Conversations with Demons
by Mirany Hunter
Summary: When Doyle gets a vision, Angel jumped to the rescue, despite knowing what will be in store for him. Kegan is smart, beautiful...and half demon. A kind of prequel to Heart of Stone.
1. Conversations with Demons

Kegan sat at the bar, nursing a whiskey, trying to block out the conversations of the humans around her. On and on they spoke about their problems, how they couldn't land a job or a boyfriend or a girlfriend, how they hated their family, how they wished they could see their family again. She was tired of humans, tired of their way of thinking. They thought too much about what they _would_ do, rather than what they _were_ doing._  
_

The half-demon wanted nothing more than to leave this damned bar and find a casino with a high stakes poker table, but she couldn't. She was waiting for someone. Who, she wasn't quite sure. Why, she was even less sure. All she knew was that they had better come within the next ten minutes or she would have someone's head, very possibly the head of the man sitting next to her, bragging about his new job to some blonde-haired bimbo.

"Kegan, am I correct?" asked an English voice behind her.

"Who wants to know, Red Coat?"

"Who else but Wolfram and Hart?"

Kegan swallowed. Wolfram and Hart were one of the few people she did _not_ want to have a beef with.

...

"Cordelia, you're looking positively ravishin' today," Doyle commented as the young woman walked in.

"Must be all that sun I've been getting," Cordelia muttered sarcastically. "Downside to working for a vampire? I will never have a tan again."

"Well, if you ask me, I don't think you need one," said Doyle.

"Cordelia, why can't I find anyone in these filing cabinets?" asked Angel frustratedly.

"Because my way of filing is special," said Cordelia.

"Well, could you clue me in?" asked Angel pointedly.

"'P' is for paying customers, 'V' is for vision customers, 'PV' is for paying vision customers, 'R' is for your random customers, you know, the ones that you just happen to notice are in vampire trouble or whatever as you walk by," said Cordelia. "And 'N' is for you non-paying customers. The ones that come in and you're too noble to ask them for money. Speaking of, I need a raise and more day time in which I can get a tan."

Angel stared at her.

"Cordelia, generally these sorts of filing cabinets have an alphabetical filing system," he said.

"This is alphabetical," said Cordelia. "I used the alphabet, didn't I?"

"She got you there bud. Next time, try for- Ah!"

Doyle doubled over in pain, pressing his hand to his forehead and screwing his face up against the vision. Angel ran around the desk to steady him and Cordelia rushed for some form of alcohol.

"What you do see?" Angel demanded.

"A girl...a demon...Wolfram and Hart...that Lindsay kid."

Doyle gasped as the vision ended.

"Lindsay's got a girl at Wolfram and Hart that he wants a demon to kill?" asked Angel.

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Doyle shakily. "All I know is that there's something going down at Wolfram and Hart."

"What did the demon look like?"

"Uh...brown with redish stripes, yellow eyes, cat-like face, thin, pointy ears, thin, tall, really long brown hair, rough skin," Doyle reeled off, accepting the glass of whiskey Cordelia pushed into his hand.

Angel straightened up, running this through his head.

"What about the girl?" he demanded.

"Same hair, pale green eyes, white skin, tallish, pointed jaw...smokin' hot," Doyle admitted.

"Did she actually look scared?" asked Angel.

"I couldn't tell," said Doyle.

Angel's brow furrowed. It couldn't be who he thought it was, could it?

"Angel, vision," Cordelia reminded him. "Bad things happen if vision isn't taken care of. Go take care of vision."

"Might not be as good an idea as you think it is," Angel muttered, leaving the office.

...

"Your guy reckons you want to speak to me," Kegan growled, jerking her arm out of a beefy man's grip.

The lawyer in front of her nodded at the man, who left the office.

"My name is Lindsay McDonald," he said, walking around his desk and gesturing at a chair. "Please."

Kegan didn't move.

"Kegan, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way, and trust me, you don't want to do this the hard way," said Lindsay, putting on such a lawyer-ish smile Kegan felt the immediate need to take a very long shower in order to wash off the slime. "Sit, please."

Kegan sat on the very edge of the seat as Lindsay lent against his desk.

"Kegan," he said, still smiling at her, "I have heard some truly amazing things about you, you know that?"

"I do now," said Kegan pointedly. "Be careful, only half of those truly amazing things are truly true."

"I have reliable sources," said Lindsay. Kegan so wanted to wipe that smile right off his young, overly-confident face. "You're a few years past the 300 mark, am I correct?"

"Do I look 300 to you?" asked Kegan waspishly.

"You don't like the easy way, do you?" asked Lindsay pointedly.

"I figure you're an evil lawyer, you should be able to get information on a...neutral half-demon without too much trouble," said Kegan. "You already have all the facts you need about me, why am I here?"

"Okay, I understand. You're a demon of focus."

"_Half_-demon," Kegan corrected. "If I were just a demon, I wouldn't be tolerating this sort of treatment and you'd be coming grovelling to me."

"Yeah, no I wouldn't," said Lindsay. "There are a host of better things I could do with my time. You're not here because I need you, you're here because I want you."

"I can't believe how quickly she got you to say that," said Angel from his position in the shadows of the office.

Kegan smirked.

"I knew I smelt vampire," she muttered. "Soul or not, you really rock the dark thing."

"She's not going to join you," Angel told Lindsay. "If she's not needed and it's not going to get her great amounts of money and power, she's not gonna do it."

"Hold on. Why are you even here?" asked Kegan.

"That is a good question," said Lindsay, picking up his phone and dialing in a number. "Yes, I need security up here. Right now."

"For some unknown and whacked out reason, I was sent here by the Powers That Be to help one of you. I'm not entirely sure who yet," said Angel. "Either way, it's a stupid idea because tomorrow I'll probably be beating one of you up."

"Ooh, the Powers That Be," said Kegan cynically. "I didn't realise they'd sunk so low as to send the vampire with a soul to do their dirty work. Don't they have living champions these days?"

She turned back to Lindsay.

"Well, it was nice talking to you, but as long as I'm not _needed_, I'm going to leave now. Vampire," she said, nodding an acknowledgment to Angel and getting to her feet.

"Security is almost on top of us. You try to leave, he'll make sure you never leave again," said Angel.

"Don't worry, I have similar plans for you," said Lindsay.

Kegan huffed.

"I really didn't want to make this hard for you," she said.

"You consciously tried to make it hard for me," Lindsay pointed out.

"Okay, I lied," she admitted, smirking. "Still, I didn't really want to fight tonight."

"I think you're about to," said Angel, pulling a knife from his sleeve. "There's a few of them."

The door banged open and at least eight muscular men barged inside, wielding guns, batons and anything else they could use to cause physical harm. Angel and Kegan immediately jumped into action.

Angel fended off a baton and brought his forearm down hard against the back of a man's neck, sending him sprawling and moved onto the next one, kicking his gun out of his hands and narrowly avoiding a vicious swing aimed at his jaw.

Kegan spun around, whipping out an arm and knocking a man into the man beside him, causing them to topple into Lindsay's desk, Lindsay only just managing to avoid getting squashed by the two beefy security guards. Finding herself boxed in by three new men, she turned and jumped up onto Lindsay's desk, pushing herself off and flipping over the three of them as she changed smoothly into her demon form, landing catlike on the floor behind the men and taking out a knee with a well placed jab to the nerve.

Angel lashed out at the man he was fighting with his leg, hooking his leg over his shoulder and pushing off from the ground, kicking the man hard in the face as he flipped over, landing back on his feet while the man he'd just kicked crumpled. The next man had pulled out a long-handled stake and was holding it out in front of him like a sword.

The brown and red demon avoided a baton swing aimed at her head and flicked her hands. Fire appeared on her fingers and palms. Her fist shot out to meet the chest of the man who had swung at her and his shirt caught fire at once. Yelling in fright, the man backed away, batting at his chest to try and put out the flames. A gun went off and Kegan snarled in pain, her knee buckling.

Angel sent a volley of punches into the face and chest of the next man in front of him until he wasn't much more than a bloodied pulp before grabbing the guard who had shot the gun by the neck and throwing him bodily across the room. Kegan was shaking, her whole body clenched around her leg.

"Ah Jesus Christ. Get down!" Angel yelled, diving behind Lindsay's desk as Kegan's head shot up.

Flames exploded from her, filling the entire office with a blazing heat. Crouched behind Lindsay's desk, Angel felt the heat of the fire and knew at once that anyone who hadn't taken cover was officially toast.

After a few moments, the flames died down and Angel opened his eyes. Lindsay was flat on his stomach in front of him, eye closed and hands covering his head. There were security guards rolling around on the floor, yelling in pain as they tried to extinguish their uniforms, and one was crying 'mummy' as he tried to put out the flames on his head. Rolling his eyes, Angel scrambled to his feet and peered from his hiding place. Kegan was lying on her back on the floor, glowing slightly from the amount of power she had used, slowly turning back into her human form. Angel knew that after losing control of her power and using up that much energy, there was no way she was going anywhere in her human form without help.

"You good to touch?" he asked.

Kegan nodded slightly and Angel came around the desk, hooking his arms under her shoulders and dragging her to her feet. She staggered and Angel grabbed her arm, pulling it over his shoulder and keeping a firm hand around her waist to make sure she didn't fall over. Angel helped her limp out of the office and down the hallway. As they reached the lifts, more security guards came running out of them and immediately had a bead on Angel and Kegan.

"He's in there!" Kegan sobbed. "Oh my God it's so bad! You have to help! It's terrible! He's completely insane! He's got some sort of fire thing and he's just out of control!"

The guards immediately ran for the office and Kegan smirked as Angel helped her into the lift.

"Suckers," she muttered.

Angel couldn't help but be impressed.

"You're quick on your feet," he commented.

"You already knew that," Kegan growled.

"Yeah, but you've improved," said Angel. "In some areas at least."

Kegan let go of him and slid down the wall of the elevator, peering at her knee. Angel could smell her blood, rich and powerful, and could almost feel it's heat. The denim around the bullet wound was blackened and burnt from the blood.

"Guess I just haven't been shot in a while," she muttered, breathing heavily and screwing up her face against the pain. "You wouldn't happen to be bleeding anywhere, would you?"

Angel shook his head.

"Damn."

Kegan held her hand over the wound and concentrated hard.

"Come on, come on, come on."

A single finger lit up and Kegan grimaced as she put what was left of her energy into the task, running the finger over the wound. It didn't heal completely, but it stopped bleeding. Kegan swooned as her finger went out.

"Oh jeez."

Angel caught Kegan's head as she fainted.

...

"So you got her," said Doyle, opening the door for Angel as he carried Kegan in. "Saved her from the demon?"

"Not exactly," said Angel. "Cordy, I need you to light a fire downstairs."

"Okay, sure," said Cordelia, hurrying down the stairs.

"A fire? I thought you were more of a water guy," said Doyle.

"It's not for me. She's the demon Doyle. She's half-demon, like you."

"Half-demon?"

"Tor'Aal," Angel informed him, placing Kegan carefully on the couch and retrieving a pair of tweezers from Cordelia's desk drawer.

Doyle swallowed.

"Not-"

"Kegan, half-human, half Tor'Aal. Fire demon, capable of using her powers even in her human form. She's just as twisted as the legends say she is. She was around before _I_ was," said Angel, examining Kegan's leg.

"She stronger than you?"

"Well I wouldn't say that. But she's faster and she plays with fire," said Angel pointedly, inserting the tweezers carefully into the bullet hole and drawing out the bullet a minute later. Kegan's leg began to bleed again. "A little smarter too. She's capable of a huge amount, especially in her demon form. Thank god she's not truly evil. Just...neutral. She won't do anything if she doesn't gain something from it."

"Okay Angel, fire's lit," sad Cordelia, coming back up into the office. "You know, you could really benefit from some matches."

"Cordelia, I'm a vampire," said Angel pointedly.

"I'm not asking you to dance in them, but if you want me to set a fire, I'd appreciate some matches," said Cordelia pointedly. "I had to use the stove and I hate your stove."

"I'll think about it," said Angel, brushing her complaints off and picking Kegan up. "I need you to stay with her."

"Me? But Angel-"

"Vision comes first Cordelia," said Angel pointedly.

She huffed and followed him back down to his apartment.

"Don't take your eye off her," Angel warned. "I don't need her going anywhere."

"Where's she gonna go Angel? She's unconscious," said Cordelia pointedly.

"Yeah well, not for long," said Angel, placing her down beside the fire and placing her hand into the flames.

"Angel, what are you doing?!" Cordelia all but shrieked.

"Don't yell at me. I know what I'm doing," said Angel. "Don't forget, watch her."

...

Cordelia sighed, watching the unconscious girl and trying not to remember that she was starving.

"Watch her like a hawk," she muttered mutinously. "She's asleep, and I need food!"

Her mind made up, Cordelia got to her feet and moved into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and cupboards, looking for something edible. Finding ingredients enough for a sandwich, she glanced back over at the fireplace. Kegan was still there, so she busied herself in making her breakfast.

"I don't know what Angel's doing, but whatever it is, he'd better get back soon, because I'm tired of baby-sitting," she told the sleeping girl. "Oh well, at least you're not a five year old trying to tie me to a chair."

Cordelia moved back over to the couch and froze. The girl was gone.

"Cordelia! Is she awake yet?" Angel called as the lift moved down to the apartment.

"Uh...yes," said Cordelia. "There's just one small problem."

...

"Look, Angel, I'm sorry alright. She was unconscious. How was I supposed to know she'd move so fast?" asked Cordelia.

"I told you very clearly to watch her," said Angel. "How hard is it to watch a sleeping girl?"

"Hey, I haven't had nearly as much practice in it as you obviously have," Cordelia snapped. "Why didn't _you_ watch her?"

"I was looking her up!"

"Doyle could have done that!"

"Fine," Angel sighed. "I was out at a strippers club that doesn't change the fact that you had one simple task!"

"We'll have to agree to disagree then," said Cordelia simply. "I was hungry."

"I'm getting hungry," Angel growled pointedly.

"You wouldn't bite me. You wouldn't have any connection to the human world without me. God knows Doyle wouldn't help at all."

Angel huffed impatiently.

"If you looked her up, why don't you just go and find her?"

"Because she knows me. She knows how I do things. She's not just going to go home."

"Where will she go then?"

"Crematorium?" Doyle guessed.

"Who on earth would want to go to a crematorium?" asked Cordelia.

"Cordy, in case you didn't notice that her hand was _in_ the fire, she's not exactly normal," said Angel pointedly. "But I don't think so. How's she going to explain that if she gets found?"

"A bar?" asked Cordelia. "Not everything has to be creepy and supernatural. Maybe she just wants a drink."

"No. She was injured. She'd need to put her leg in flames," said Angel.

"Maybe she is at her place because she'd know that you wouldn't go there because that's what you usually do and you know that she knows what you usually do," said Cordelia.

"Not that I followed that, but I think I know what she's getting at and it's actually not a bad idea," said Doyle.

"I really don't want to go to her place," said Angel, grimacing.

"Why not?" asked Cordelia.

"Because she's disturbed!" said Angel. "The last time I was at her place she was collecting spleens from human bodies."

"Spleens?" asked Doyle.

"The name amused her," said Angel darkly.

"Oh...yuck," said Doyle. "Still..."

Angel sighed.

"I'll see you two tomorrow. If I'm still alive," he muttered.

...

Kegan looked up as Angel opened the door carefully.

"Congratulations. You found me," she said, mouth twitching into a sadistic smiles. "Come in Angel."

Angel stared around in distaste as he entered. Kegan was in her human form, sitting in the middle of a glowing coal pit, a scalpel in her hand and a small body of some sort on a tray in front of her. The place was dark, with not light except for the coals, and smelt of blood and animals. Beside the pit was a bucket filled with what Angel took to be dead rodents.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Dissecting. Care to join me?" asked Kegan, holding up another knife.

"I'm alright, actually," said Angel, fighting the urge to throw up. "Why are you..dissecting?"

"It keeps me entertained. And I like the hearts."

To prove her point, Kegan reached into the chest cavity of whatever animal was currently on the tray and pulled out it's small heart, showing it to Angel before reaching behind her and dropping it into a jar filled with some sort of preservation liquid. There were already other hearts in there.

"You're disgusting."

"You drink blood yet _I'm_ disgusting?"

"I drink blood because I have to. You do this because you're...deranged."

Kegan shrugged.

"As long as I'm happy," she said simply.

"You know Wolfram and Hart's not going to leave you alone now," said Angel.

"I do," said Kegan.

"Well, what do you plan on doing about it?" asked Angel pointedly.

"Annoy them," said Kegan, smirking at him. "Why are you here? You don't like me."

"I don't," Angel agreed, "but, it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra muscle."

"Angel, I'm sitting in a fire, cutting hearts out of small creatures. Is that really the sort of person you want hanging around the office?"

"Not really," Angel admitted, "but it would be handy to have you around. Let's face it. You're smarter than my team put together, you can most definitely hold your own, and you have some pretty good experience in the world of demons."

Kegan got to her feet and came right up close to Angel, who backed up into the wall, staring down at her with caution.

"What's in it for me?" she asked, running a finger down his chest and leaving a scorching burn.

"Not _that_," said Angel pointedly. "You know the curse, you know I can't."

"Then you have nothing I want," said Kegan simply, turning on her heel.

"I can pay you."

Kegan whipped back around, her eyes lighting up at the idea of some easy cash.

"How much?" she asked.

"Depends on the job," said Angel. "You in?"

Kegan frowned.

"I'm going to need a number bud," she said. "What if Wolfram and Hart were to come to me with a more...lucrative deal?"

"Five hundred."

"Minimum?"

"If it has to be."

"Done."

Kegan held out a flaming hand.

"Shake on it?" she asked, grinning evilly.

"How do you get people to like you?" asked Angel waspishly.

"I'm pretty," said Kegan, giving him her best innocent smile as she turned away from him. "Leave if you want to continue walking."

Angel swallowed and left without another word.

...

"You recruited her?! Are you out of your mind man?" asked Doyle indignantly. "She'll kill us all!"

"I'm sorry, I'm still trying to get my head around the half-demon thing," said Cordelia. "Who on earth would have a kid with a demon?"

"A lot of people don't know that a person's a demon when they do," said Angel. "They only find out after the act."

"Oh that's really disturbing," said Cordelia.

"Wait till you see her heart collection, then you'll know what's really disturbing," said Angel pointedly.

"You lot are talking about me and I don't like it," said Kegan from the doorway.

"Sorry, I didn't realise you were so sensitive," said Angel coolly.

"Are you going to introduce me?" asked Kegan, gesturing at Cordelia and Doyle.

"Cordelia Chase. Don't worry, I know I'm hotter than you, but, there's no competition here," said Cordelia, her smile far too wide to be sincere as she held her hand out.

Kegan took it and Cordelia squeaked, jerking away and shaking her hand to cool it down.

"Sorry, I think I missed that. Who was hotter?" asked Kegan.

Cordelia scowled at her and moved away.

"Doyle," said the Irishman, avoiding all contact with the demon.

"Vampire, human and-"

"Human," said Doyle and Angel pointedly.

"Of course," said Kegan, smirking. "What else would you be? A Brachen demon?"

Doyle, contrary to his usual easy-going nature, looked like he was going to kill her.

"I just came round to tell you that Wolfram and Hart paid me a visit, and they weren't after me," said Kegan. "I figured I owed you one for helping me a back there, so I thought I should warn you. They are not about to give up. They really want you."

"Thanks for the heads up," said Angel. "Since you're here-"

"No," said Kegan at once. "I'm about to cheat some very rich people out of lots of money and I just don't think that five hundred is going to cover that."

"Five hundred? You're paying her five hundred for a job?" asked Cordelia angrily.

"Cordelia, did I mention that I was going to give you raise?" asked Angel.

Cordelia smirked and made a rude gesture towards Kegan. Kegan's eyes flared and she made towards her, but Angel got in between them.

"Girls, please," he said. "I know you don't get along now, but sooner or later, I'm sure you'll be discussing the latest fashions and what not like you're best friends so just lay off each other until you're absolutely sure you hate each other and then, please leave each other alone."

Kegan stepped away.

"Guess I'll see you around," she said coolly, walking out of the office.

There was silence in her wake until Doyle spoke again.

"Angel man, not that I want to pry but, what's your history with her?"

Angel sighed as he sat down.

"1845," he said. "Darla and I had a small...fight, and I was at a tavern. She was there as well, trying to pick up a sucker. At the time she would pretend to be a prostitute, get taken home, and then she'd rob them for everything they had before finding their wives, girlfriends and families and telling them that they'd tried to hire her."

"What? The money wasn't enough for her?" asked Doyle.

"She's sadistic and cruel. She likes to add insult to injury," said Angel. "Anyway, she took one look at me and knew I was vampire, but she still went for me. She wanted my blood."

"What? Why?" asked Cordelia. "Wanted to be a vampire as well?"

"No see, vampire blood is basically a drug for demons. It makes them stronger, gives them a real high. She cheated me out of everything I had, plus my blood. I think it's safe to say I was a little angry."

"So you beat the crap out of her the next time you saw her?" asked Cordelia.

"No. No, before now, I hadn't seen her since then. But I did make sure that no one in their right mind would talk to her. She heard she left the country in order to get away from the reputation I gave her."

Angel smiled sadistically.

"One of the few things I don't regret doing," he said, somewhat proudly. "But you know, now we don't like each other."

"She's only a half demon, didn't your blood affect the human part of her?" asked Doyle.

"No," said Angel, frowning slightly. "Maybe because she's still able to use her powers in her human form. Whatever it is, it means she's powerful, and probably a little more demon than human."

"And you recruited her," said Cordelia. "You're going to get us all killed."

"Sorry," said Angel sheepishly. "I didn't go there with the intent to recruit her."

"That's ironic," Doyle snickered.

"What?" asked Cordelia.

"Well, vampires generally have some thrall over people. They're able to make people do what they want, that's why a lot of people don't fight back as much as you'd think they would when they're about to be bitten. This vampire here, just got thralled!"

"I didn't get thralled!" Angel snapped. "I just...okay I got thralled. But she was reluctant to join!"

"Which gave her a bigger pay check when you finally got her to join," said Doyle pointedly.

Angel grumbled incoherently to himself.

"Well, thrall or not, you've got quite the problem on your hands," said Doyle. "Not only do you have to pay her every time she helps, but you're going to have to baby sit her in between."

"Why?" asked Angel.

"Because if she does something to a prospective client then they come in and see her, they'll freak out," said Doyle.

"Angel, I swear if you let her ruin any opportunities you have to get money, I will kill you myself," said Cordelia fervently.

Angel stared at them both in horror.

"She's going to be the death of me," he muttered.


	2. Memories

"Alright, which part of our deal gave you the impression that you could just drop by whenever you wanted to?" asked Kegan, brandishing her scalpel at Angel angrily. "I am in the middle of a very delicate procedure here!"

"And I'm in the middle of a fire pit, faced with an angry half-demon with a seriously disturbed thing for cutting things up, and yet I don't seem to care as much," said Angel pointedly. "What are you doing this time?"

Kegan's place was dark as ever, the walls blackened with soot and spot fires lit around the floor. Kegan herself was in her demon form, leaning over a metal desk with a middle sized creature, maybe a dog, lying open in front of her.

"Fido here has an extra limb, I wanted to see how that affected the rest of the body," said Kegan.

"You couldn't just put him through an x-ray?" asked Angel.

"What do you want?" Kegan growled. "And what's in it for me?"

"Do you have the Sight?" asked Angel.

"I might," said Kegan. "Why?"

"There's a guy that reckons he's possessed and-"

"He's not possessed," said Kegan at once. "Anyone who's truly possessed wouldn't be able to tell someone they're possessed. Did they say God at all?"

"Um...possibly."

"He ain't possessed. Could you pass me those tweezers?"

Angel located the implement and tossed it to Kegan, who began to shift the muscles in the dog's leg around.

"Okay, well, thanks for that. I'm just gonna-"

"Hold it."

Angel froze and Kegan straightened up, putting down her tools and coming over to him.

"There is no guy," she said knowledgeably, leaning against the door, completely blocking off Angel's exit. "So why are you here?"

"There was a guy," said Angel sincerely. "I promise you there was a guy."

"You know perfectly well that you're going to get nowhere if you keep that up. Fast," said Kegan simply.

Angel sighed.

"I need your help."

"Well, not so fast big guy," said Kegan, advancing on the vampire. "After all, there's plenty of time for me to help you. Why don't we have a little fun first? Take our minds off the job?"

"I...I can't," said Angel desperately. "And I really don't want to! Besides, you don't even know what the job is yet!"

Kegan smirked.

"That's what all the married ones say. You're not married, so I have even less incentive to listen."

Angel grabbed hold of her shoulders and held her back.

"I can't," he said firmly. "And even if I could, I wouldn't."

Kegan changed into her human form, and innocent look on her face.

"What do you mean, you wouldn't?" she asked, sounding timid and hurt. Angel swallowed. "Aren't I pretty enough for you anymore?"

"No, of course you're...pretty enough- Jesus Christ, you're not an innocent little girl! Quit it!"

Kegan dropped the innocent act at once, going instead for sexy.

"Why wouldn't you Angel?" she asked, licking her lips slightly, her hand running lightly down his arm. "You chicken?"

"I'm a vampire, I'm immune to your thrall," said Angel dangerously.

"Pretty wimpy vampire," said Kegan, still eyeing him seductively. "What's the matter? As far as I can remember, you have nothing to be shy about. And the last time you thought you were immune to my thrall...well, it didn't really turn out so well, did it?"

"Kegan, stop," said Angel firmly.

Kegan huffed and turned away.

"I'm not taking your stupid job. I have better things to do."

"I want you to steal something."

Kegan whipped around, her interest peaked.

"What sort of something?"

...

"You do understand what you're asking me to do, right?" Kegan growled, pacing in front of Angel's desk. From the next room, Cordelia and Doyle watched through the doorway. "I mean, you're not asking me to steal a wallet. You're asking me to steal the Sword of Garnor."

"Garnor?" Cordelia asked Doyle quietly.

"A sword forged to kill a very, very, very powerful demon," Doyle explained. "Think 'conquer the world' bad."

"I understand that it's a big job," said Angel. "But-"

"No, I don't think you do understand!" Kegan cut over him. "The Sword of Garnor is locked up, very securely, in Wolfram and Hart's strong vault. That sort of heist could get me killed. What possible use could you have for that sword?"

"I don't. But Wolfram and Hart do. They're trying to harness it's power."

"Let them!"

"What's she so nervous about?" asked Cordelia. "I thought she liked stealing stuff."

"Well firstly, stealing from Wolfram and Hart is not your everyday average stealing," Doyle pointed out. "And secondly, the sword was forged to kill a demon that could have been her father."

"What?" Cordelia hissed. "That very, very, very powerful demon was her _father_?"

"Kegan, I'm not going to sit by and let Wolfram and Hart continue with some sort of plan that could well destroy a large amount of people!"

"Then don't! But don't involve me! You wanna put your life on the line, fine. But I'm not stealing the Sword of Garnor. No way in hell!"

"Are you sure he was her father?" asked Cordelia. "Really?"

"You don't really get just how powerful she is, do you?" asked Doyle. "Angel is actively scared of her. Her powers exceed that of a normal, _pure blood_ Tor'Aal. There are all sorts of legends about her. One of them is that the demon was her father. The guy who forged the sword, Garnor, he made it for a slayer, who used it to slay a very powerful Tor'Aal demon around 300 years ago. She's just over 300 years old and she's far more powerful than any half blood demon ever should be. It's one of those legends that might actually be true."

"Stop talking about me!" Kegan snarled, fire flaring from her fingertips as she glared at the two of them. Doyle and Cordelia fell silent at once.

"Kegan, if Wolfram and Hart harness it's power, the result could be catastrophic," said Angel urgently. "I want to steal the sword and send it to the Watcher's Council where it'll be safe."

Kegan did not look pleased with that idea.

"The Watcher's Council?! Angel-"

She cut herself off as she realised that Cordelia and Doyle were still watching. She slammed the office door in their face and drew the blinds, making sure that they couldn't see or hear what it was that she had against sending the sword away.

Cordelia sighed and sat down at her desk.

"Guess she doesn't want us to get ideas," she said.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it," said Doyle sarcastically.

...

"That sword was designed specifically to kill _my_ father and _any_ of his offspring," Kegan growled. "_I'm_ his offspring! You think I'm just going to let you send it off to a big group of people who train slayers? No way Fang Face! I steal that sword, I want to see it destroyed."

"So it is true. I wasn't sure," said Angel. "Ku'Rorn was your father."

Kegan banged angrily on his desk, leaving burn marks on the wood and making Angel jump a mile.

"Concentrate dumb ass! I'll already be putting my life on the line just to steal the god damn thing! I wanna make sure that if it's removed from it's current _secure_ location, where it's not hurting me, I might add, that it won't fall into the hands of people who _do_ want to hurt me with it!"

Angel held up his hands in surrender.

"Alright," he said. "Fine. Once it's out of Wolfram and Hart's hands, we'll destroy it. Or throw it in the ocean or something. It will cease to be a threat to you, okay?"

"You better be paying me a hell of a lot to do this," Kegan growled.

"Ten thou?"

"Fifteen."

"Twelve."

"Angel, this is not up for debate," Kegan growled pointedly.

Angel sighed.

"Fifteen," he agreed.

"With a five thou advance."

"You have got to be kidding me! I can't pay you that much until I know you've done the job!"

"What? Don't you trust me?" asked Kegan coolly.

"Do you trust me?" asked Angel pointedly.

"Why to you think I want an advance numb skull?" Kegan snapped.

"Alright. You know what? Have the advance," said Angel, scribbling out a cheque. "We can start planning tomorrow. Just get out of here before one of us does something stupid."

Kegan curtsied sarcastically and snatched the cheque from his hand.

"Until tomorrow then."

...

"I can't go in there without being detected."

"You seemed to do alright last time."

"I had a distraction," said Angel.

"What was that?" asked Kegan.

"You," said Angel. "You can't get in there without being detected either, but since there are often demons walking in and out of there, you should be alright. They just don't like vampires there."

"So you want me to go in alone?" asked Kegan.

"Well, if you'd prefer to take Doyle or Cordelia with you, I'm sure-"

"I'm alright," said Kegan quickly.

"Hey, don't blow us off so quick love. We can hold our own," said Doyle.

"Convince me that you work for Wolfram and Hart," said Kegan, eyeing him with disbelief.

Doyle stared at her for a moment before sighing.

"Guess I can't," he muttered.

"What about me? I'm a bitch, I can pull off evil lawyer," said Cordelia.

"Can you fight?" asked Kegan.

"No," Cordelia muttered resentfully.

"You know, I would appreciate it if you didn't shoot down my team every time they opened their mouths," Angel snapped at Kegan.

"Well, when your team can actually prove to be of some use to me, I might consider that," said Kegan coolly. "Until then, live with it."

Angel clenched and unclenched his fists in silent anger, but didn't fight back.

"Alright, if I'm going in alone, I'm going to need a map," said Kegan.

"Oh yeah, that won't look suspicious, walking around Wolfram and Hart with a great bloody blueprint of the place," said Cordelia sarcastically.

"Well see, unlike some of us, I have a very reliable, photographic, memory," said Kegan. "If you lot can procure a set of blueprints, I'll have no problem remembering them."

"Show off," Angel muttered. "You're not the only one with a good memory you know."

"Aww, good for you," said Kegan condescendingly, patting Angel's face. "Your mother must be so proud. Oh, wait, you ate her."

Angel advanced on her and Kegan's eyes lit up at the prospect of fighting the vampire.

"Come on honey, I'll teach you how to fight like a man," she growled, gesturing him forward with flaming fingers.

"Okay children, come on," said Cordelia. "We have work to do and I'd kind of like Angel alive to help."

"That makes one of us," Kegan growled, flames on her hands going out. "Look, assuming I can get in and out smoothly and that I can somehow procure the security clearance to get down to the vault, we still have one major problem."

"Oh?"

"How do I actually get into the vault?"

"Get past the demon and swipe your access card," said Angel simply.

"Demon?" asked Kegan. "What demon?"

"Oh, didn't you know? Wolfram and Hart has a demon guarding their vault," said Angel, smirking slightly. "And you're not allowed to kill it."

Kegan glared at him.

"I hate you," she growled. "You're enjoying this."

"We don't know exactly what sort of demon it is, but we do know that it's big and poisonous," said Angel. "So, we'll get those blueprints for you and you're in the clear."

Kegan was so pissed off at him that sparks were flying from her eyes as she glared at him.

"Careful Kegan. Wouldn't want you to lose control now," said Angel coolly. "Why are you still here? Don't you have an animal to dismember? I told you, we'll take care of everything but the actual stealing of the sword. Go and play with your dead things for a while."

Kegan's eyes narrowed.

"I'm not the one that should be careful Angel," she said dangerously. "After all, _you're_ one of my dead things."

Angel's smirk slipped off his face as she left the office.

...

"There's something you're not telling us," said Cordelia shrewdly. "No way would you two hate each other so much just from that one thing a few hundred years ago. There's something else going on between you two. A couple of legends and a once off encounter does not warrant you being so scared of her, or her being so pissed at you. So what if she had to leave the country? That's probably what she wanted to do anyway. No, there's something beneath all this. How many one night stands have you two had?"

Angel gave her an expressionless look.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Angel, don't you dare blow me off like that. We should know. And she's just gone to Wolfram and Hart so you're safe to talk about her for an hour at least."

"She's right man. It could affect us. And besides, you ought to open up more," said Doyle. "It's healthy."

"I'm dead," Angel pointed out.

"Mentally healthy," Doyle amended. "So tell us man, why such a rivalry?"

Angel sighed and sat down.

"Around ten years after I destroyed her reputation in England, our paths crossed again."

...

_1856_

_"I do love the smell of vampire in the evening. It's such a nice ch- you."_

_Kegan glared at Angelus._

_"I was hoping I would see you again," she growled._

_"I'm afraid I can't say the same," said Angelus coolly._

_"Do you have any idea who you dared to mess with?" Kegan growled._

_"Kegan, correct? I know you're not fully demonic," said Angelus. "Half-demon swine."_

_"Watch your mouth!" Kegan snarled. "And may I point out, vampire, that you're not exactly a part of the pure-blooded demon club either."_

_"Fair enough. What sort of demon are you?"_

_Kegan smirked slightly._

_"Wouldn't you like to know? Get out of here vampire, before I make you."_

_Angelus scoffed._

_"You? I'm more powerful than most pure-blooded demons. What makes you think a half-blood such as yourself could possibly defeat me?"_

_The girl's hands set fire at once and Angelus watched as flames appeared behind her eyes._

_"Because the element you avoid...flows through me," she growled. "Would you like to taste real pain, Angelus?"_

_"You're in your human form."_

_"Does it surprise you? Some lowly half-demon such as me can use power such as this while in her human shell?" asked Kegan, advancing on the vampire, a small, cruel smile playing her features. "That such a weak form could produce something so powerful?"_

_Never before had Angelus backed away from a threat the way he was backing away from this demon. The power she radiated had no aura. It was not good or bad power. It was just potent energy. This demon wasn't good or evil. She was just looking for amusement. Angelus knew how to deal with good beings and evil beings, he did not know how to deal with neutrals, and he had never really striven to find out. There was not an evil being he knew that didn't warn against tangling with those just out for themselves. There was no predicting their movements, no guarantee of truth or deceit in their words. They existed purely to make evil beings look like cuddly dolls, and good beings look like devils, depending entirely on what they felt like. They had no sense of right or wrong, only their own twisted views._

_"Are you scared Angelus?" asked Kegan softly. "Of a whore?"_

_Angelus ran up into the wall of the alleyway behind him, keeping a close eye on the flames on her hands._

_"You...you should learn your place," he stuttered._

_The fire on her hands petered out, and she looked slightly worn out. Angelus realised that though she may be able to use her powers in her human form, they clearly drained her. She came right up to him, looking up at him slightly innocently._

_"My place? Where would that be?"_

_She ghosted her fingers over his chest._

_"Kneeling at your feet? Tending to your every whim?"_

_She pressed her hand hard into his sternum. Angelus winced as he felt her digits heating up._

_"Obeying your every command?" she hissed._

_"I...I...no...I...I just...you are too...too forward."_

"I'm_ too forward? _You_ followed_ me_ Angelus."_

_Her hand was getting continually warmer, heating to unbearable levels as Angelus struggled to find a reply._

_"I wanted to...talk."_

_"About what?"_

_Angelus realised far too late that letting his defenses fall for that one moment, when she had looked so innocent and pure, so...corruptible, had possibly been a fatal mistake. Kegan's hand was glowing red hot, and his clothes were disintegrating around it._

_"I wanted to...ah...see if...perhaps...ungh...you wanted...to drink..."_

_"You wanted me to drink you? Oh. You enjoy it. Where's your usual slut?"_

_Angelus' eyes flashed._

_"Do not call my sire such things," he growled dangerously._

_"What would you like me to call her then? A c-"_

_Angelus snarled and slapped her hard across the face before taking advantage of her shock and pressing her up against the wall, arm to her throat._

_"Darla is not currently available," he hissed. "You are."_

_Kegan started laughing, despite Angelus choking her._

_"You think I'm...available for you? After what you did to me?"_

_"I don't think you care what I did to you. I'm offering myself to you."_

_"Whore!" Kegan spat._

_Angelus chuckled._

_"You could say that."_

_"Let me go."_

_Angelus paused for a moment before removing his arm. Kegan straightened her coat, frowning up at him._

_"I don't want to see you ever again after this," she said firmly._

_"Of course not."_

_Kegan sighed._

_"Follow me."_

...

Kegan looked around carefully as she entered Wolfram and Hart. The security guards in the room were all listening intently to radios and Kegan tuned herself into them.

-_A demon has entered the building. This brings the demon occupants up to thirty-seven. Remain alert for suspicious behaviour_-

Knowing that she had been detected and yet they were not closing in, she allowed herself another look around the lobby. There had to be someone she could swipe an access card from. Her eyes fell on a young looking security guard, looking slightly overwhelmed by the people and creatures walking around. Clearly, he was new here. Kegan put on her best lost face and hurried up to him.

"Excuse me mister? Could you help me? I'm lost. Is this Wolfram and Hart?"

The guard jumped slightly when she first addressed him, then stared at her with wide eyes.

"H...hi," he stuttered. "Uh, yes, this is Wolfram and Hart."

"Oh thank goodness."

Kegan spied his access card hanging from his belt and slid slightly closer to him.

"See, I wasn't sure, because I was told they helped people, but not everyone here looks like a person to me."

Kegan knew the guard seemed to be tossing up his chances at getting laid tonight.

"Is there any way you could help me? I'm looking for Lindsay McDonald, but it scares me just to think about going through this big building all by myself when there are so money strange creatures here."

The guard puffed himself up slightly proudly. Kegan's hand whipped out and snatched the badge off his belt too quickly for him to catch.

_Idiot._

"Of course Miss. Allow me to escort you."

Kegan followed the guard into one of the lifts and waited until the doors had closed before slamming her forearm down on the back of his neck. He crumpled at once and she opened the doors, putting on a scared, worried face.

"Help! He just collapsed! Somebody help!"

A selection of guards and people hurried into the elevator as Kegan moved away and slipped into the emergency stairwell undetected.

_Gotta love young guards._

She reached a door at the bottom of the stairs and swiped the card through the scanner. The door buzzed and she was let through. There was a short corridor beyond it, with blank wooden doors leading off into other rooms, but Kegan had her eyes set on the large armored door at the end. There wasn't any demon to be seen.

"Stupid vampire. Trying to rile me up," Kegan muttered, making her way towards the door.

She was about three steps away when the demon materialized in front of her. The vampire had been right. The demon was big, and it certainly smelt poisonous. Kegan took a step back, grimacing at the demon.

"Hi," she said through gritted teeth. "My name's Kegan. What's yours?"

The demon didn't answer, just glared at her.

"Not a talker, alright," said Kegan. "So, just how poisonous are you?"

The demon snarled at her and droplets of green liquid flew from it's mouth, dropping to the ground and burning the floor.

"_That_ poisonous," Kegan muttered. "Look, I'd really appreciate if you didn't kill me, because I have a vampire to kill when I get back so..."

Kegan tried to step around it but the demon growled, flexing fingers with long, razor sharp claws. Kegan sighed.

"I'm not going to get out of this without fighting you, am I?"

The demon growled again.

"Well in that case..."

Kegan transformed in the red-brown demon she was and her hands set alight.

"...let's dance."

The demon swung at her with it's claws and she ducked out of it's way, rolling behind it and lashing out at its legs with her feet. The demon was big, but it was slow and heavy, and was sent crashing to the floor. It roared in indignation and sent a stream of the burning liquid at Kegan, who only just managed to dodge it, though a few drops did land on her arm, burning the flesh.

Kegan hissed in pain and brought a flaming fist down on it's skull. The demon howled as she burnt through its face, but it was still conscious and it swiped at her leg with both its clawed hands, cutting the flesh like butter. Kegan screwed up her willpower against the pain and pressed a flaming hand to the wounds, trying to heal them as the demon got back to its feet.

"Well done," she hissed. "But we're not finished yet."

She hit the demon in the stomach and it grunted before spewing up more of its poison, showering the walls and floor with acid, and causing Kegan's leg even more pain as it splashed up on her. But Kegan didn't think on this and instead held her hand to the puddles of burning liquid. They lit up at once, setting a large amount of the floor around her on fire. The demon, standing just outside the fire snarled, but it didn't try to make it through the flames.

"Let it be known, that had I been allowed to kill you, _you'd_ be on fire, not the floor!" Kegan snapped, turning to the door and swiping the card again as she changed back into her human form.

The door opened and Kegan limped in, staring around her. Her face lit up in a grin as she took in the valuable items around her.

"Now this is what I call heaven."

...

"That doesn't sound like the sort of thing Kegan would hate you for," said Cordelia.

"Yeah, demons _like_ vampire blood."

"There's more to this story," said Angel. "So, she drank my blood and we had a very, very intense night, and then I may have tortured her and...tried to kill her."

...

_"You two-faced, lying, cowardly, bastard!"_

_Angelus smirked slightly as Kegan jerked against the chains._

_"Now, that wasn't very nice," he said disapprovingly. "And here I was thinking you had learnt to start talking nicely to me."_

_Kegan bit back a cry of pain as Angelus ran her shoulder through with a long blade._

_"After all, the nicer you are to me..."_

_Kegan hissed in pain as he twisted the blade._

_"...the nicer I am to you."_

_The demon spat flames at him and Angelus snarled as they burnt his face._

_"Why you-"_

_He drew a hot poker from the flames behind him and ran it straight through her leg. Kegan howled in pain before closing her eyes and letting her head flop back on her shoulder blades, her mouth hanging slightly open. Angelus thought for a moment she had fallen unconscious, but then she looked back up at him, flames in her eyes, an open mouthed grin on her face._

_"You may be strong vampire, but you clearly don't have a brain in that pretty little head of yours. See, I can't always control me power..."_

_Angelus' eyes widened as Kegan's entire body seemed to heat to an unbearable temperature and he dived behind the first thing he could find as flames erupted from her body, filling the entire room with a searing heat. Angelus waited until the flames had deceased and then some before daring to come out from his hiding place. The half-demon was gone._

...

"Yeah, that might have been something she wouldn't have liked," muttered Cordelia.

"It was worse for him than it was for me...in the end," said Kegan, walking into the office and grabbing hold of Angel's shirt. "You and I have a date."

"What? Why?" asked Angel

"We have a sword to destroy," said Kegan simply, pulling him towards the door. "And you two ought to stop nosing into my past. You won't like the result."

"Why not?" asked Cordelia.

Angel groaned and Doyle winced.

"Why not?" Kegan repeated, letting go of Angel and getting up into Cordelia's face. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't like people talking about me. And I _really_ don't like people talking about my past. I've had fun, yes, but I don't need a group of amateur demon detectives digging around my life."

Kegan held a flaming hand right near Cordelia's face.

"Don't. Try. To. Find. Out. About. Me."

Cordelia stared at her with fearful eyes and Kegan smiled slightly.

"Good talking to you," she said, turning on her heel and dragging Angel out of the office.

"I can't believe you asked why!" said Doyle, his eyes wide. "Are you insane?"

"I just thought...maybe...she'd be nice," said Cordelia, staring after the demon. "Guess that was a stupid idea."

"Ya think?"

...

"Happy now?" asked Angel.

Kegan into the kiln.

"Yep," she said, scooping up a handful of ashes and tossing them in Angel's face. "Cough up."

Angel coughed away a large amount of the ash. Kegan scowled.

"Oh, you mean money," said Angel, pulling a roll of bills from his pocket. "Here."

Kegan unrolled the bills and began counting them.

"So, do tell, what else did you take?" asked Angel.

"Oh you know, this and that," said Kegan casually. "I'm now the proud owner of another Tegnar horn for one."

Angel stared at her.

"Why did you want that?" he asked. "What possible value could it hold?"

"It looks pretty on my wall. And they don't catch fire so it's one of few things that will survive in my apartment. Plus, if you cut them open, they're individual to each demon. I have about twenty different horns now."

"Don't you have anything better to do than cut things open?"

"Drinking and gambling," said Kegan simply. "And planning my inevitable rise to power."

"Really?" asked Angel.

"Hey, my father almost got there. And in this society, where people who make swords to kill very, very, very powerful demons are very, very, very rare, I'm even more likely to do so."

Angel swallowed.

"And when I do, my first port of call will be to toast your dead, little arse," said Kegan frostily. "You didn't tell them the half of it."

"I figured it would be better to leave them in the dark than get staked just for telling a story," said Angel, shrugging.

Kegan snorted.

"Wimp. Well Fang Face, see you around."

Angel turned as she passed him.

"Kegan."

The half-demon paused.

"I know you know about my curse."

Kegan smirked.

"What about it?"

"It wouldn't benefit you to have me lose my soul, and based on my thinking, letting you do to me what you'd like to do would cause me to lose it, so...can I actually...?"

Kegan smirked.

"Well, let me try, and you'll find out."

Angel swallowed.

"Guess you'll never know then," said Kegan, leaving the building.


	3. Dealing

"Kegan, I need- Kegan?"

Angel stared around the empty room.

"Hello?" he asked.

He could hear noises from the next room and made his way over to the door.

"Kegan?"

Kegan's head appeared from beneath the covers on her bed.

"Ah, Angel, so glad you could walk in. Say hello to Angel boys."

Two male heads poked out and grunted hellos. Angel shuddered slightly and turned around.

"I can come back."

"No, I can multi-task," said Kegan as the other heads disappeared again.

"Look, there are a lot of disturbing things that you do that I can put up with, but I am not talking business with you while you're clearly in the middle of...pleasure."

Kegan smirked.

"Why don't you join us then?" she asked. "Pleasure first, business later."

Angel rolled his eyes and turned around.

"I'll come back."

Kegan clambered out bed and grabbed hold of his arm. Angel closed his eyes tightly to avoid looking at her.

"Open your eyes you fool and get me out of here!" Kegan hissed. "You know that old 'big hands' saying? It's not true."

Angel snorted and averted his eyes away from her naked body.

"Oh for god's sake Angel, it's not as if you haven't seen it before! What's the job?"

Angel looked uncomfortable.

"Um...well...please put some clothes on."

"How much are you gonna pay me?" asked Kegan, smirking.

Angel scowled and Kegan sighed, snatching up a large shirt from the floor and pushing him out of the room.

"They won't even know I'm gone. I'm fairly sure they're gay. So, do tell. What do you need me to do for you this time?"

"You'll like this one," said Angel.

"I doubt that," said Kegan darkly, disappearing into another room and reappearing with a bottle of whiskey. "So what makes you think I'll like this one? If it's anything like any of the others, I won't."

"Oh come on, you liked the Wolfram and Hart one."

"Only because I got to steal more than one thing," said Kegan. "Anyway?"

"I...kind of need you to uh...be a prostitute," said Angel, biting his lip.

Kegan stared at him for a moment, her mouth slightly open in shock, before a grin curled her lips.

"Oh really?" she asked.

Angel shifted uncomfortably.

"So not only do you want me to mix business with pleasure, but you want me to be the whore that you personally condemned?" she asked, ghosting her fingers over his chest. "Don't you think that's going against most of your...morals?"

"I said I'm sorry," said Angel through gritted teeth.

Kegan took a swig from her bottle and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Angel, you haven't even begun to experience sorry," she said dangerously. "But luckily for you, I've had sex recently, or...I've had what the two in there think is sex, so I'm feeling forgiving. Why am I being a whore?"

"So that we can get into a haunted mansion and-"

"No," said Kegan at once. "I'm not doing it."

Angel stared at her.

"Why not?"

"Doesn't matter. I'm not. Goodbye."

Angel grinned.

"You're afraid of ghosts," he said.

"No," said Kegan truthfully. "Ghosts I am not afraid of."

"Then why won't you come to a haunted mansion with me?" asked Angel.

"Wait. So not only did you want me to be whore, but you wanted me to be _your_ whore? Angel, I think you're slipping."

Angel wouldn't meet her eye as she got right up close to him.

"I thought you couldn't do that sort of stuff," she said. "And that even if you could, you wouldn't, because apparently, you have standards that I don't meet. I notice that the last time I met you, your standards were a fair bit lower."

"I was young and stupid."

"You were old and stupid!" Kegan scolded. "Just like you are now. You are passing up an amazing opportunity, and you know it."

"So are you. Why won't you come kill ghosts with us?"

"Because ghosts are a waste of time," Kegan snapped. "Everyone knows that. The moment you kill one, another one will pop up somewhere else because whenever someone dies, they are always either angry, or they have something they really need to do."

Angel eyed her curiously.

"If it's not the ghosts themselves, it's something about getting rid of them. I know you're not opposed to salt or most of the things used in a cleansing ritual, so I'm going with something that repels them."

Kegan scowled at him and took another swig of whiskey before turning away and shifting through glass jars on a shelf, searching for something she could cut.

"Holy water repels anything with a drop of demon blood so it can't really be what you're so scared of. You walk in and out of blessed buildings all the time, so it's not that."

"How can you possibly know which buildings are blessed or not?" asked Kegan. "I mean,_I_ know, because I have The Sight, but how do you know?"

"I can't go in," said Angel. "It's not salt so...iron."

Kegan didn't say anything, just took down one of the jars and opened the lid. Angel nearly choked on the smell inside, and it only got worse when she pulled out the brains of some form of animal.

"Why can't you just be normal?" he groaned.

"Because I live to cause you discomfort," she said, examining the grey matter as she sat down in the large coal pit in the middle of the room. "And because normal is boring and not very brain straining."

"Brain straining? You strain your brain?" asked Angel skeptically.

"If I lost 50 IQ points, I'd still be smarter than most of the people in MENSA," said Kegan matter-of-factly.

"Well...good for you," Angel snapped. "So, how badly does iron affect you?"

"We're not having this conversation," said Kegan firmly.

"No, I think we are," said Angel, smirking and leaning against the wall. "You know, I always thought you were basically immune to everything but a deadly shot. Guess I was wrong about that."

Kegan glared at him.

"Iron doesn't affect me," she said shortly.

Angel shrugged.

"Okay then. So you'll be coming then?"

Kegan paused. Angel could clearly see the 'ah crap' moment she was having, and watched happily as she tried to think of some other excuse as to why she wasn't coming. However, despite her apparently 'higher than any MENSA member' IQ, she didn't get very far.

"Fine," she hissed.

"Good. See you tomorrow."

Kegan picked a burning coal from her fire pit and threw it at him, hard. Angel ducked and moved to the door.

"Have fun with your boys in there."

"YOU'RE A BASTARD!" Kegan yelled through the door.

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know," Angel muttered as he walked away.

...

Kegan grunted as her back hit the floor and grinned up at the angry, very drunk, man.

"Hey, just because I'm better at poker than you doesn't mean we have to get physical about it," she said. "After all, you'll lose at this too. I'm better at fighting than you."

She rolled out of the way of his fist as he brought it down towards her face. He howled in pain when his knuckles instead slammed into the concrete floor and she rockets upwards, locking her forearms around his neck and driving him backwards.

"Now, are we going to be friendly, or will your friend have to call you an ambulance?" she asked, catching his fist as he tried to swing at her again.

The man spat at her. Kegan blinked, scowling, and wiped off the spittle.

"Ambulance then," she muttered.

She was still holding onto the man's fist and now she squeezed tightly. The man gave a strangled sort of cry as the bones in his hand gave way to Kegan's fingers and he struggled out from under Kegan, scrambling to his feet and snarling in her face like a wounded bear. Kegan smirked and gestured him forward.

"Come on then big guy. Show me what you got."

The man would have, but his friend held him back and dragged him away from Kegan before she could cause any permanent damage. Kegan sighed.

"Too bad," she muttered, snatching up the money she had, well, 'won' probably wasn't the right word to use to describe her downright cheating.

She slipped back onto her bar stool and took up her whiskey again. The person sitting next to her began to clap slowly.

"Well done. If it hadn't been for his friend, I can assume he would be near death, correct?"

Kegan glared at Lindsay.

"What are you doing out here? Alone?" she asked pointedly.

"Oh Kegan, I'm not alone. In fact, now that the other guy and his friend are gone, _you're_ the only person in this bar who doesn't earn a Wolfram and Hart pay cheque."

"And I'm not going to now, so fuck off," Kegan snapped, turning bodily to face in the opposite direction.

Lindasy got to his feet and came around to sit on the other side of her.

"You're not going to get me to go away without a fight," he said.

Kegan sighed.

"Fine."

Her hand lit up as she rested her head in it, watching him expectantly.

"You've got two minutes before that invitation to hit you really, really hard is far too appealing to pass up," she growled.

"What's Angel paying for you for this job?" asked Lindsay.

"I don't know, but it had better be a very pretty penny," Kegan muttered.

"What if I were to double it and you stayed at home?" asked Lindsay. "Or beat up people in a bar instead?"

Kegan eyed him suspiciously.

"Why would you do that?" she asked.

"Well, I figure you don't really want to get anywhere near iron, and I have a few...interests in that particular place."

"How did you even know what we were doing?"

"Oh Kegan, did you really believe that we wouldn't be watching your every move after you stole from us?" asked Lindsay. "You took some valuable items that we kind of wanted back. Unfortunately, you made fairly certain we weren't getting them back any time soon."

"The sword's gone McDoofus. No amount of money is going to get it back."

"I don't want the sword. To tell you the truth, I was glad you got rid of it because it destroyed my colleague's plan, which meant that I got the promotion instead. No, I just want to give you the opportunity to avoid fighting ghosts, because, undoubtedly, there will be iron involved and we both know that the last thing you want to do is go anywhere near the metal. Surely you don't really care what business I have by keeping you away."

"You're absolutely right. I don't care."

"So?"

Kegan considered him.

"You'll double whatever Fang Face gives me?"

"Absolutely," said Lindsay, offering his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

Kegan smirked and took his hand with her flame free one.

"Deal."

...

"Kegan, you said you were coming," Angel growled.

"And now I'm not," said Kegan. "So unless you can offer me something that I might actually want on this job, I'm not going."

"Would five thousand change your mind?" asked Angel.

"No. I made that much off poker last night and I didn't risk my life doing it."

"I doubt that."

Kegan scowled at him.

"I'm not coming unless you offer me what I actually want," she said. "You know what my price is, you make your decision."

Angel glared at her.

"You're not coming," he said firmly.

"Well, I wouldn't be quite so sure about that Angel," said Kegan, smirking.

"Speaking of, don't ever let me walk in on you having a three-some again," said Angel.

"Why? Did it not turn you on, the thought of me and those two rut-"

"I don't need a recap!" Angel snapped and Kegan grinned.

"Are you jealous that I'm getting some and you're still stuck in 'I'll lose my soul' denial?" she asked. "Or maybe your jealousy has a little more direction. Maybe you're jealous of the two in my bed last night. After all, you _have_ to remember the times we-"

"I swear to God Kegan, shut up or I'll make you," Angel growled.

"Ooh, now I'm scared," said Kegan sarcastically.

"Well, if you're not going to help, you might as well clear out," Angel growled.

"With pleasure," said Kegan coolly, leaving the office. "Have fun tonight vampire. I will."

...

"Five thou," said Kegan.

_"That's it? You couldn't more out of him? I'm disappointed in you Kegan."_

"If I tried, he would have thought I was still coming," Kegan said into the phone. "When'll I get the money?"

_"Swing by my office, I'll have it for you."_

"No, that's not how this works," said Kegan simply. "I'm doing something for you already, that's why you're paying me. I don't collect my money, you bring it to me."

_"I'm sorry Kegan, you should have told me that when we made our deal,"_ said Lindsay calmly. _"I'm afraid if you want to money today, you're going to have to come and get it because I'm expecting some important calls today and I'll probably be taking an all-nighter. I can't leave this office."_

Kegan scowled. She didn't have any desire to set foot in that building again, even if it meant she'd get ten-thousand large for it. What exactly was in this deal for Lindsay anyway? Why didn't he want her there? He was fine with Angel being there. Maybe there was nothing special about the hauntings, at least, nothing special enough for Lindsay. Maybe this was about baiting her. Maybe she was just paranoid and reading into the situation too much.

_"Kegan?"_

"I'll see you soon."

...

"I knew it," Kegan muttered, glaring at Lindsay. "You're a bastard."

"You know, I was almost hoping you were smart enough not to come," said Lindsay. "To any normal person, it would basically scream trap."

Kegan glared at him as the fire demon pushed her roughly into a chair.

"What do you want?"

Lindsay leant casually against his desk, considering her.

"I have a job for you."

"You gonna pay me?"

"Uh, no," said Lindsay, smirking. "You see, you're kind of at my mercy here so I figured, you do this for me, I won't ask my boy here to kill you."

Kegan glanced up at the thuggish fire demon. She could take him, but it would take some serious effort and injury to do so.

"Fair enough," she muttered. "What's the job?"

"It's your lucky day," said Lindsay, smirking. "I have an item I need you to steal."

Kegan raised an eyebrow.

"You can't lawyer it out of someone's hands?"

"No," said Lindsay. "It's a very special item that only people immune to fire can hold. I need you to go in, steal it, and give it to your chaperone for this evening."

He gestured at the demon and Kegan growled her distaste.

"Well, you didn't expect me to just let you go with no one keeping an eye on you, did you?" asked Lindsay. "No. You get this for me, you'll never have to see Crusher again."

"Crusher?" Kegan asked the demon.

"Nickname in the ring," he grunted.

Kegan swallowed. She herself had spent a few fights in demon fighting rings, none of which she had particularly fond memories of. They were always fights to the death, and none of the competitors were wimps. They all held their own very, very well. Fire had been her saviour in those rings, but fire wasn't going to work on this demon any time soon.

"What am I stealing? From where?" she asked.

"A staff dubbed the Staff of Flame. Easy to remember since it's covered in flames," said Lindsay. "And...you're stealing it from the house that Angel is about to rid of ghosts."

Kegan stared at him.

"What?" she snapped.

"You heard," said Lindsay. "Oh, I should mention, there is one teensie, tiny clause to this deal. If Angel finds out you're there, Crusher here is going to have to cut any loose ends immediately."

"I'm guessing I'm a loose end," Kegan muttered.

"Putting that brain to use already. Good job."

Kegan frowned at the lawyer, who flashed his trademark 'trust me' smile at her.

_Lawyers. Blech._

"This one job?" asked Kegan.

"Just the one. And you won't even have to come back here to finish it."

"What do you want the staff for?"

"That is none of your concern."

"Is if you're gonna use it against me."

"You're a fire demon, the staff's powers range from little fire to big fire. I think you're safe," said Lindsay coolly.

Kegan sighed and looked back up at Crusher.

"Guess we better get going then big guy."

"Do be swift," said Lindsay. "I don't have all night."

Kegan glared at him again she passed.

"Oh, don't be like that. I do wish we could have been civil about this, but you won't talk to me," said Lindsay, smirking. "Have fun."

The demon took hold of Kegan's arm and steered her out of the room.

...

Kegan surveyed the house from the back, taking in as much of the detail as possible. She could hear the sounds of people laughing and yelling in the house, and there was a window on the side of the house that was filled with a bright, flickering light, and the shadows cast through the window depicted acts Kegan had trouble believing was even possible for the human body to achieve. She immediately abandoned any hopes she had had for not running into Angel in the house however. It was large, but certainly not large enough that he wouldn't sense her presence.

"You wouldn't happen to have any clue where this staff might be located within the place, would you?" she asked Crusher, who stood statue-like just behind her.

"Inside," he grunted.

Kegan turned to raise an eyebrow at him.

"You're not really a talker are you?" she asked.

Crusher didn't reply, just gestured at the house again.

"Yeah, didn't think so," Kegan muttered. "Well, best get to it then."

She moved up to the fence line and examined the metallic spikes. Wrought iron.

_Fantastic._

"Alright big guy, let's put your muscles to use. I'm gonna need a boost."

Crusher stepped forward and hooked his sausage-like fingers together. Kegan backed as far away as possible from him without touching the fence before dashing towards him. She leapt into his hands and was sent rocketing upwards and over the fence by the demon, rolling off her momentum as she hit the ground on the other side. She straightened up, smirking.

"Well now, would you look at that. We make such a great team," she told the demon.

"Get the staff," Crusher grunted.

Kegan scowled.

"You just can't enjoy the moment, can you?" she asked, rolling her eyes and turning to the house. "Alright. If I was a staff made of fire, where would I be?"

She grabbed hold a drain pipe and used it to scale the wall and pull herself up to the window in the attic. Putting her fist through the glass panes, she knocked out the rest of the glass and slipped into the darkened room.

_Basement. Gotta be in the basement._

Kegan kicked open the door and slid down the ladder, landing on the third floor of the large house and listening. She could hear Angel's voice already. He had to be on this floor, and she listened more closely. He was speaking Latin. He was cleansing the building. Kegan smirked. She doubted that any ghost in this building would put up with that. Angel was about to have his hands very full. She stepped towards the stairs and heard him falter slightly. He knew she was here.

Kegan didn't waste any time. She had no desire to become one of Lindsay's loose ends. She sped down the three flights of stairs to the main hall and stared around. There was no basement access.

"How can a place like this not have a basement?" she muttered.

She flinched as a wind started to kick up in building. Angel's ghosts were aware of what he was doing, and he was going to get flattened. Kegan sighed. She had, in a way, hoped that he wouldn't go ahead with the job when she had pulled out. Ghosts were dangerous, and powerful, and Angel was going to be pulled to pieces.

"Damn it. Alright, I help you, you help me, no one has to know that you know I'm here."

She took to the stairs again, dashing back up towards Angel's voice. In the few seconds it took her to get back up to the third floor, the wind had reached gale level and the lights right through the building had all blown. Kegan could hear yells of shock and fright from the people downstairs, and they sounded light years away.

"ANGEL! I THINK YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE GHOST!" Kegan yelled into the room as she barged in.

"I THINK I GOT THAT PART!" Angel yelled back. "WHY ARE YOU HERE?"

"I'LL TELL YOU WHEN WE GET RID OF THESE BASTARDS!"

"LET ME TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, I'M NOT PAYING YOU FOR THIS!" Angel yelled angrily.

"YEAH, NO ONE IS!"

Angel looked at me, confused, but turned back to his exorcism.

"SEEN ONE YET?"

Angel shook his head.

"CAN'T BE FAR AWAY!" Kegan yelled. "THEY CAN'T GET OUT OF THE PLACE! IRON FENCES!"

"HOW DID YOU GET IN THEN?"

"I HAD HELP! SPEAKING OF, I'M GOING TO NEED YOUR HELP GETTING RID OF THEM LATER!"

"WHAT DID YOU GET YOURSELF INTO NOW KEGAN?"

"IS NOW REALLY THE TIME TO BE DISCUSSING THIS?" asked Kegan pointedly.

Angel scowled and shoved a book into her hands.

"SINCE YOU CAN'T HOLD IRON, YOU MIGHT AS WELL CHANT!"

Kegan immediately began yelling the Latin phrases above the racket, ducking to avoid dangerous flying objects. She heard Angel swear and looked around just in time to avoid him as he was thrown off his feet by a ghost as it appeared.

"And to think you actually wanted to come and do this yourself," she muttered.

"KEEP CHANTING!"

Kegan huffed and continued to chant from the book, but the ghost did not like that idea, neither did his friend, who appeared a moment later.

"Oh good, there are two of you," Kegan winced. "ANGEL! NOW WOULD BE A REALLY GOOD TIME TO START SWINGING SOME IRON!"

On cue, Angel dived back at the ghosts, brandishing a fire poker. The ghosts disappeared before he could reach them however and reappeared on either side of Kegan.

"Uh oh."

Kegan was lifted into the air by invisible forces and sent rocketing into the ceiling. She dropped the book, which whipped out of sight in the wind.

_Ow. And damn. Oh wait, what comes up..._

She was sent slamming into the floor. The floorboards beneath her gave way and she ended up falling to the floor below. Allowing herself to take a moment to groan and check for broken limbs, she rolled over and stared up through the hole. Angel's circle of exorcising item had been broken, his ritual had been lost in the wind, and he himself couldn't even poke the damn ghosts with a stick. All in all, things were not looking too good.

"Well, in that case, maybe it's time for a different approach," Kegan muttered. "ANGEL GET DOWN HERE!"

"ARE YOU INSANE?" Angel yelled back through the hole, swinging wildly at thin air to prevent the ghosts from getting near enough to him to cause the same sort of damage. "I'M KINDA NEEDED UP HERE!"

"YOU'RE NEEDED DOWN HERE MORE! TRUST ME!"

"IN WHAT UNIVERSE WOULD I TRUST YOU?"

"BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T I'LL SET THIS PLACE ALIGHT WITH YOU IN IT!" Kegan snarled.

Angel dropped down through the hole, landing beside her.

"What?"

"The ghosts are stuck here, they can't get away from this place, which means that this had to be where they first rose. Ghosts rise over their bodies, and ghosts die when their bodies are set fire. Ergo, I'm setting this place on fire. If you want to play the hero tonight, go get people out before they're covered in flames."

"Got it."

Angel took off and Kegan let herself transform.

"And this is why you don't play with fire," she muttered through the hole. "I'LL SHOW YOU JUST HOW MUCH YOU'VE PISSED ME OFF!"

Fire erupted right over her body, turning her into one huge ball of flame and she raced off through the hallway and into every room, setting anything she could touch alight. In seconds, the whole of the second floor was on fire, and not even the wind, stronger than anything she'd ever felt before, could blow it out. In fact, the ghosts were only speeding on their demise as the gale spread the flames higher and further. She dashed downstairs and saw Angel all but wrestling the last few people out of the house and she immediately set about burning up the first floor as efficiently as the second. One the whole house was alight, she sat down in the middle of the entrance hall and watched happily as her fire made quick work of the house. She knew the moment the bodies of the ghosts had caught alight. The wind died at once, and eerie shrieks could be heard, but there was nothing the ghosts could do other than scream. Satisfied with the outcome of her job, she changed back to normal and slipped out of the house before the whole thing could collapse on her.

"I guess I owe you a thank you, even though you deserted me to begin with," Angel muttered as she stepped over to him.

"You're welcome," said Kegan coolly. "But our work here is not done."

"Oh, so you're not here for me?"

Kegan snorted.

"Don't flatter yourself. I'm here because otherwise I'd be lying dead on Lindsay McDonald's office floor," she said coolly.

"What business does Wolfram and Hart have here?" asked Angel.

"He wants a staff made of flames for some reason," Kegan said. "I didn't ask. I was just told to get it and I wouldn't have to hear from them again."

"You believe that?"

"No, but it's better than dying at the hands of a lawyer from East Texas," Kegan spat.

"You said you had help."

"Oh yeah, fire demon, goes by the name of Crusher. I don't like him, he doesn't like me. He was my chaperone. I need him gone if I want to live and that's where you come in."

"Kegan, I have enough trouble keeping _you_ from setting me on fire. What on earth makes you think that a demon under Wolfram and Hart's employ won't set me alight the moment it sees me?"

"Because he won't be seeing you. I need you to find a bucket or something, fill it in the pond over there, go around the back, and douse him. Then I can kill him."

Angel sighed.

"You better not be pulling my leg."

"Angel, there are a thousand better ways I could pull you leg. I'm one hundred percent serious right now. I need him gone if I want to keep breathing."

"And we all want that," Angel muttered sarcastically, opening the fence and slipping out. "Alright."

Kegan looked back at the burning building. She could come back for the staff later, and she could do the deal with Lindsay on her terms. Right now, Crusher was the main priority. She went around the side of the building and found Crusher waiting, now somehow on the inside of the fence. That was good. Kegan had had a moment of pause as to how she was going to get over the fence to grab hold of the demon, but it appeared that the fire had gotten the demon's attention.

"Where's the staff?" he grunted angrily the moment he saw her.

"Don't worry big guy. I'm just waiting for the flames to die down a little so I can distinguish a flaming staff from a flaming building," Kegan explained. "I had to set the place alight. There were ghosts and they were really pissing me off."

"Did the vampire-?"

"Angel didn't see me, hear me, smell me, or in any other way know I was there. I'm pretty sure he believes it was a couple of the thousand candles in there that started the fire."

The demon frowned but accepted the story.

_Oh thank god I'm a good liar._

Kegan saw Angel coming soundlessly up towards the demon from behind and turned to look at the fire again.

"You know, I always love creating something as beautiful as this, but I just don't do it often enough," she remarked. "I think I'm a little rusty. Had a moment there when I realised it might have been better to start at the top than the middle, but there you go. What do you reckon?"

"It's a good job," said the demon. "Better than some of the crappy stuff the other guys at W.H. do."

"Oh yeah? How many of you are there?"

"Enough," said the demon simply.

Angel threw the water he had collected at the demon, who snarled as the liquid cooled his skin and put out the mane of fire he had running down his back. Kegan pounced on him at once, hitting him hard in the face and latching her legs around his neck. The demon, disorientated and weakened, swung wildly at her and she narrowly avoided his fist, causing him to hit himself in the side of the head. She flung herself backwards, legs still firmly locked around Crusher's neck and slammed him hard into the ground. Before he could so much as think about getting back to his feet, she pulled a knife from her belt and ran it home through his chest. The demon spasmed underneath her, then went limp.

"Good job," Angel commented.

"He was big and slow," Kegan muttered. "Doesn't take much to bring down a tank."

She looked back at the house then at Angel again.

"How about I meet you at the bar near your offices in an hour. There's something I want to do first."

Angel nodded slowly, frowning slightly at her.

"I can't stop you from meddling with Wolfram and Hart, and the tell you the truth, I don't really care unless it threatens my team, but you should be careful. They're a lot more powerful than they seem. Lindsay may only look like he just graduated from high school but...he has some very powerful beings behind him. I'd try to steer clear if I were you."

"See you in an hour Angel," said Kegan pointedly.

...

"I really do owe you a thanks," said Angel. "As much as I hate to admit it, I actually did need you, and it sounds to me like helping me was going to cause you more grief than it was worth."

"It did, I got thrown through a floor," Kegan growled. "But, I managed to get through it without any major injury, from ghosts and demons, so I guess it wasn't as bad as it could have been."

"So, how did Lindsay even get you to his office in the first place?" asked Angel.

"Lies and deceit. Turns out I'm not the only person in LA who uses them," Kegan muttered.

Angel snorted slightly.

"You know what, I think you owe me more than a thanks," said Kegan. "I saved your unlife. The least you could do is-"

"Kegan, Jesus Christ, I'm not sleeping with you!"

Kegan smirked.

"Careful. I don't think you're allowed to use such language as a vampire. And why not? I promise you, the likelihood of you ever achieving true happiness again is next to none. And besides, you could never be truly happy with me and we both know it, no matter what I was doing. You don't trust me enough for that."

"I'm not having sex with you. I've been there, I've done that, and I've since developed standards."

Kegan rolled her eyes.

"Some blonde little bimbo in Sunnydale who had the IQ of a chihuahua and the emotional range to match is not standards."

Angel growled.

"Don't you dare talk about Buffy like that," he snarled. "How do you even know about that?"

"Because Cordelia is an open book if you either offer her a new pair of shoes of threaten to burn off her hair," said Kegan coolly. "And I'll talk about the slut any way I want because that's what she is. Do you have any idea the number of guys she at least _tried_ to hook up with when she wasn't fawning over you?"

Angel looked about ready to kill her but he didn't reply.

"You don't, do you?" asked Kegan, smirking slightly. "Well, I won't go into actually statistics, but there were a fair few. If your standards are nothing more than seventeen-year-old whores, then I should think you'd be perfectly fine with spending a night with me. Okay, so I look nineteen and not seventeen, but you can't have every-"

Angel grabbed her by the throat and rammed her into the wall behind her.

"Shut up," he growled. "You have no right to talk about her, and you certainly have no right to talk about her like that."

Kegan glared at him and he recoiled from her at once as his hand blistered on her skin.

"I'm simply making a point Fang Face. Your standards don't exist, and you're craving that interaction," she hissed at him. "You hide it behind strength and fighting, but you know as well as I do it's all a mask to cover that you need that feeling, that satisfaction. You're a vampire, that's how you're built. Your need the heat of passion, even if it doesn't exist outside the bed. So if you do change your mind about those standards of yours, you give me a call. You're not the only demon here who craves that touch."

Angel stared after her as she left the bar. He didn't know how she knew, but that she did...that truly scared him.

...

Lindsay did not look at all pleased as Kegan smiled at him.

"I thought it was only fair that you got to visit my office, since I've visited yours," she said sweetly.

Lindsay jerked against the ropes tying him to the chair.

"You little b-"

"Uh uh, no name calling," Kegan said, smirking as she leant against the wall. "Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

She picked up the flaming staff and spun it round in her fingers.

"In other words, little fire, or big fire," she said.

Lindsay glared at her.

"All for one little betrayal?" he asked.

Kegan raised an eyebrow at him.

"And that one wouldn't have stemmed into further 'deals'?" she asked. "I don't give second chances McDonald."

"Yes you do."

Kegan's smirk slid off her face.

"What?" she hissed.

"Angel. The biggest second chance you've ever given. The only second chance you've ever given."

Kegan stared at him.

"That's different."

"How?" asked Lindsay.

"He's not a son of a bitch evil lawyer," Kegan growled, slashing at him with the staff.

Lindsay hissed in pain as flame burst across his chest, then died away. Through the burnt gash in his clothing, Kegan saw a very satisfying, ugly looking, burn. He took a minute to compose himself before glaring back up at her.

"You love him."

"I'm. A. Demon. I. Can't. Love!"

With each word, Kegan slashed again, and Lindsay let out shaking cried of pain with every contact.

"You're torturing Lindsay and you didn't invite me?" asked Angel. "I'm insulted."

Kegan turned to grin at him. Angel could see the pure pleasure she was taking from this act in her eyes.

"Angel. Care to join me?"

She tossed the staff to him and Angel yelped and dodged it before he could catch it. Lindsay snickered.

"Shut up!"

Kegan hit him hard in the face with a flaming hand and Lindsay fell very silent in fear of being burnt further.

"Let him go," said Angel. "Or else I'll have to fight you and, well, you don't wanna fight me."

Kegan raised an eyebrow at him.

"Is that a challenge?" she asked.

"No," said Angel. "It's an order and a threat."

Kegan glared at him as she picked up the staff again.

"I don't take orders. Especially not from you," she growled, moving back over to Lindsay and hovering the staff barely an inch away from his crotch. "Now either you can join in or go away."

"Let him go Kegan," Angel growled.

"Yeah, you heard him, let me go," said Lindsay desperately.

Kegan raised an eyebrow at him and dipped the staff slightly. Lindsay flinched but she caught the staff before it could touch him.

"I told you to shut up," she said.

"Shutting up."

"Kegan, I want to take up your offer."

Kegan whipped around to stare at him, an evil grin on her face.

"Really?"

Angel swallowed. Kegan's grin increased.

"You're off the hook," she told Lindsay, taking a knife from a bench nearby and slashing the ropes around his ankles and wrists. "Get outta here before he changes his mind."

When Lindsay didn't move, instead opting to watch the two of them closely, trying to figure out exactly what is was that Kegan had offered, Kegan growled and grabbed him by the back of the collar, all but throwing him through the door and slamming it behind him. She turned back to Angel.

"Blood as well?"

"Alright."

Kegan grinned and took hold of his shirt, walking backwards into her bedroom and pulling Angel with her.

"You'll come to love these nights Angel. Trust me."

* * *

*****AUTHOR'S NOTE*****

**Hope you enjoyed this one. Sorry it took so long to post for those of you who might have been waiting. I'll start another one right away. Don't forget to review!**


	4. Info

"Who wants to break the law with me?" Kegan declared as she strode into Angel Investigations.

Angel and Doyle looked up, unamused.

"Oh come on, don't be so stony. It'll be fun."

"Fun? Breaking into houses or mansions, setting off alarms and running from police is your idea of a good time?" asked Doyle. "I can think of many things far more fun than that."

Kegan grimaced at him.

"Not on your life," she said simply. "And I don't set off alarms."

"Fine, but you don't know what you're missing."

"And yet somehow I'll live to see another day," said Kegan coolly. "Angel come on. You used to enjoy breaking the law."

"I'm busy Kegan."

"Angel, I was there the moment you...needed me. I dropped everything," said Kegan, coming around Angel's chair and running a finger along his collarbone. "Now, I would hate to be otherwise occupied the next time you need me."

Angel glared at her hand as she ran her finger back and forth along his chest.

"What are you talking about?" asked Doyle. "You turned him down last time he needed your help."

"Shut up Quick Draw," Kegan snapped. "And let me remind you that outside of the office, Angel and I do still talk."

"No, we fight," said Angel. "Doyle, maybe it'd be best if you went and helped Cordelia research that demon."

Doyle gave one last longing glance at Kegan before he got to his feet.

"Right," he said, leaving the room.

"You have no shame," Angel hissed.

"Mmm, true," Kegan breathed, running a tongue along his neck and leaving a trail of boiling saliva.

"Get off me," Angel growled through the pain in his neck.

"Make me," Kegan challenged, nipping lightly at his shoulder and running her hands up under his shirt.

Angel grabbed hold of her wrists and held her away from him as he got to his feet.

"If you back off, then sure, I'll help you."

"Good, let's go," said Kegan simply, moving to the door.

Angel stared at her.

"What? Just like that? No catch?"

"We'll get to that. Now hurry up, we don't have long."

"What exactly don't we have long to do?" asked Angel.

"You'll find out."

Angel sighed.

"I'm not going to back out Kegan."

"We need to get ready for a ball."

"A ball?"

"Lots of rich people, and you're a distraction," said Kegan simply.

"I'm a distraction?"

"You're very distracting," said Kegan, smirking. "You still a 56 long?"

Angel sighed.

"I want it on the record that I am completely and utterly against this," he muttered.

"Denied," said Kegan simply. "Now come my little flying monkey. I have a suit for you."

...

"I feel like I'm back in the eighteen hundreds. You know, when balls were cool," said Angel.

"Oh quit your whining. And balls never went out of fashion, people just ran out of money."

"Yeah, because you stole it all from them at their balls," said Angel, trying and failing to remember how to do his bow tie. "Why do they still wear these monkey costumes anyway?"

"Having trouble with your bow tie?" asked Kegan through the door.

"Yes," Angel hissed.

"Yeah, you were never good at that."

"We're still not telling Cordelia and Doyle that we uh..."

"No, I have kept that particular avenue of torture shut off," said Kegan, "because if it came out that I used to run with you, my reputation would go straight down the drain."

"What? I used to be very, very evil."

"You also used to be more of a player than me," said Kegan, sticking her head out of her room to examine him. "You'll do."

"I'm about to help you break more laws than I care to admit to myself. I had hoped I would get better than just a 'you'll do'."

"Well then you better start learning to do up your bow tie," said Kegan.

Angel growled.

"I don't exactly have a reflection to help," he said.

"How is that my problem? You're from the eighteen hundreds, you should know how to do it in your sleep."

"Yeah, I don't th- Ga-ah."

Angel stared as Kegan opened her door. She was wearing an emerald green dress that tied up at the back of her neck. It was made of some sort of silky material, and was low cut with a cowl neck. It clung to Kegan's curves, and opened at the top of her leg to reveal her porcelain skin right down to her feet, which were wrapped in silver, roman sandal style high heels. She wore a silver necklace with a single teardrop diamond hanging from it and held a small silver clasp. Angel swallowed.

_Holy..._

"I uh...you look...adequate," he choked.

"I think the word you're looking for there is 'stunning'," said Kegan, smirking.

"No, no, let's keep this friendly," said Angel.

Kegan rolled her eyes.

"You know, you are allowed to compliment me."

"Why start now?" asked Angel as Kegan came over.

"Hmm, very funny," said Kegan sarcastically, taking the bow tie and doing it up around Angel's neck.

"Remember when we used to enjoy this dance before a ball?" asked Angel.

"I'm enjoying seeing you squirm," Kegan offered.

"The word 'we' generally means _us_," Angel pointed out.

"Yes but I'm the only important person in that grouping, so I'm the only one that matters. Alright. You're adequate. Let's go."

"Oh, I'm so glad I meet your standards," Angel muttered sarcastically, holding open the door for her as she passed him.

...

Kegan started as Angel took her around the waist and pulled her onto the dance floor.

"Busy Angel," she growled.

"One dance will not seriously diminish your take tonight," said Angel.

Kegan sighed.

"I'm running out places to put things anyway," she muttered.

"Good. I need to talk to you."

"About what?" Kegan asked as Angel took up her hand and began to slowly turn her around the dance floor in time with everyone else.

"Something isn't right with these people."

"What do you mean Angel?"

"Don't they all seem a little...dazed to you?"

"I haven't looked at their faces yet."

"Has a single one of them noticed you swiping stuff from them?" Angel asked.

"I'm very good," said Kegan simply.

"See that woman there? Take her purse when we pass," said Angel.

"What? Angel, I wanted to break the law, but I didn't want to get caught."

"Trust me."

"That's the problem. I don't," Kegan muttered.

"Just try."

Kegan sighed and watched the woman until they were right next to her. Faster than Angel could catch, her hand whipped out and grabbed hold of the the purse, pulling it away from the woman as they passed. The woman didn't even blink, just continued to talk absentmindedly to the man next to her.

"Okay," said Kegan, opening the purse and peering inside. "There's a hell of a lot of cash in here and she didn't notice at all."

"Like I'm saying, I think something's wrong."

"Well, do you mind sharing _what_ you think is wrong?" asked Kegan pointedly.

"Spell," said Angel.

"On _everyone_? That's a little excessive, don't you think? And why isn't it affecting us? And why would you cast a spell over a whole crowd of people anyway?"

"I don't know, but I would hazard a guess the reason why we're not affected is because we're not human. Not entirely anyway."

"Angel, half the people here can't exactly be classified as human either. Most of them are lawyers."

Angel smirked.

"Well, whatever it is, we're not affected."

"So this is some sort of...stunning spell?"

"Something like that," said Angel.

"Okay, so we need to isolate the source and burn it. Easy," said Kegan.

"Easy huh? How exactly do you propose we isolate the source?" asked Angel pointedly. "And what are we going to burn it with? I don't have a magical item combust or on me at the moment, do you?"

Kegan raised an exasperated eyebrow at him as Angel realised what he'd just said.

"And to think I thought I was being smart," he muttered.

"Well...it's gotta be something in this room right? I mean, that's the easiest way to put a spell on everyone in the room," said Kegan.

"Okay, that's good, but see, this is a ball Kegan. There are lots of things in this room."

Kegan scowled at him.

"No kidding Sherlock," she snapped. "There is another way to go."

"And what would that be?"

"Find the spell caster," said Kegan.

"You know what? Somehow, I don't think that's going to be a great deal of fun. Let's just stick to finding the-"

"Are you scared of witches?" Kegan cut over him.

"The better question would be why _aren't_ you scared of witches?" said Angel. "They're far more powerful than you."

"Yeah, but only when they're powerful," said Kegan. "Most of them aren't."

"The person doing this has to be powerful. No one can put a spell on an entire crowd of people without some serious power."

"Well, as serious as their mojo might be, they haven't affected us, so I don't think there's any real reason to be scared of this guy. Not to mention, whoever it is, all they've done is made people a little oblivious. They haven't harmed anyone."

"Yet," said Angel darkly.

"Well look at you Mr Glass Half Full," Kegan muttered sarcastically.

"Look, we need to find out who's doing this, and we need to stop them."

"Well then, I- Wow."

Kegan stared after a man as he walked past.

"Have fun," said Kegan quickly, patting Angel on the shoulder and making a beeline after the man.

"Kegan!"

Angel sighed as Kegan disappeared into the crowd.

"That'd be right," he muttered. "Guess I'm on my own."

...

"Mmm, I could do with some of that," Kegan muttered as she followed almost right behind the man. "Alright, let's get in front."

She slipped behind a group of people and sped up, stepping right in the man's path, causing him to run straight into her.

"Oh, sorry," he muttered, as he staggered away from her. "I didn't...how could I not have seen you?"

Kegan smiled innocently.

"It's alright. It was my fault."

The man took hold of her hand and bent to kiss her hand.

"Samuel Thompson," he said smoothly. "It's a pleasure to bulldoze into you."

"Kegan," the demon replied. "Hunter. Kegan Hunter."

"Related to Mark Hunter?"

Kegan blinked.

"I hope not, as I have no idea who that is."

"He's a business...tycoon," said Samuel. "Not important. You're more attractive than anyone in that family anyway."

"Thank you?" Kegan guessed.

"Oh trust me, that's a compliment," said Samuel fervently. "Tell me Miss Hunter, how did you find yourself here tonight? I don't remember seeing you on the guest list."

Something about what the man said struck as peculiar to Kegan.

"I was...invited as a plus one," said Kegan quickly. "I didn't realise this was your function."

"It's my father's," said Samuel, flashing her a confident grin. "You've heard of Leroy Thompson I hope? It's his ball. Well, he likes to think it is. Still, it's smart. Trying to impress all his business rivals with an over extravagant ball. He doesn't even like most of the people here."

"So you must know everyone here," said Kegan.

"Indeed," said Samuel. "Except you."

The man didn't have the same glassy-eyed look that the rest of the people did. Kegan eyed him more carefully now that she was aware that he may well be the person Angel was looking for. He looked...far too good to be a normal human.

"So, everyone here is on the guest list? Even people who came at the last minute?" asked Kegan.

"Indeed. You know, I'm glad you're here. A mystery to solve. Everyone here is so...regular to me. You're different, you're new."

"Gotta figure out whether you're gonna need a different incantation to put me under the same spell as everyone else?" Kegan guessed.

Samuel grinned slightly.

"Well, I don't know how easy you are to seduce yet," he said.

Kegan blinked.

"Do you have any idea what's going on here?" she asked.

Samuel frowned slightly.

"What do you mean? Are you...not interested?"

"Oh you poor clueless bastard, you have no idea how interested I am," Kegan muttered, pulling the piece of cloth from Samuel's breast pocket and digging inside his jacket to grab a pen. "Give me a call later. I'm free from...well I'm free all the time, except for right now. I have to go. But call me. Seriously. You'll hate yourself forever if you don't."

"Well, we can't have that," said Samuel, smiling roguishly at Kegan as she passed by him. "See you tonight."

"Hmm, you're confident aren't you?"

"It's one of my best qualities."

"We'll see about that. Excuse me."

Kegan slipped away from the man and headed over to where Angel was trying to coax information out of a small group of people.

"I know who you're looking for," she muttered as she passed him, heading for a room off the ballroom.

Angel whipped around and followed after her, entering the dark coatroom and turning as Kegan locked the door behind him. He scowled.

"You don't actually know, do you?" he asked.

"Oh, I do, but nothing's free Angel. You should know that."

"I do not have time for this. Whoever's doing this may well kill them all at any second!"

"Probably," Kegan agreed, undoing his bow tie and starting on his shirt buttons.

"Kegan!"

"Do you know a Mark Hunter?" asked Kegan curiously.

"No," said Angel at once.

"Lies."

"Well then, looks like we can make a deal. You tell me your info, I'll tell you mine," said Angel.

"Yes, well, I would, but since your information can be found on the internet, I don't think it's really a fair deal."

"Oh, you won't find out everything you need to know about the Hunters on the internet," said Angel fervently. "Sure, you might find out how much their worth, but there is much more to them than any website is going to tell you."

"And how do I know that what you're telling me is legitimate?"

"You know perfectly well that I couldn't lie like that without you catching me out," Angel pointed out.

Kegan considered him, fingers ghosting over his chest as she weighed the options.

"The man you're looking for is Mr Leroy Thompson. It's his ball, and everyone on the guest list happens to be either business associates or business rivals. I think we can both see where this is going."

"That's why we're not affected. We're not on the guest list."

"Well done. A plus," said Kegan. "Now, tell me about the Hunters."

"How did you find out about this?" asked Angel.

"His son."

"Don't you think maybe his son had been sent to talk to you? Throw you off the real trail? What if he's the one casting the spell?"

"Don't you think maybe I thought of that and using my superior wit, charm and intellect I found out that none of the above are true?" asked Kegan pointedly, taking up Angel's hand and licking at his fingers.

Angel growled.

"Kegan, I do not have time for this."

"And you know what? I will allow for you not to have time for this if you deliver on your side of the deal. Who are the Hunters?"

Angel reached around Kegan and unlocked the door, doing up his shirt buttons with the other hand.

"Are you sure you want to know?" he asked.

"If I didn't want to know I wouldn't have asked," Kegan growled.

"Watchers," Angel muttered in her ear as he passed her, leaving the coat room.

Kegan stared after him in horror.

"What?"

...

"Who doesn't attend their own ball?" Angel asked frustratedly.

"So, let me get this straight. Mark Hunter, who's apparently the richest man alive, is also a Watcher? And so's his wife?"

"Oh, did I mention that his daughter's the Slayer?" asked Angel, mounting the stairs and peering out over the heads of the crowd, looking for anyone who didn't look drugged.

"No!" said Kegan indignantly.

"I don't know why you're getting so angry, it's not as if you've planned a heist against them yet," Angel muttered. "Does that guy over there look normal to you?"

"He's way too young to be Samuel's father. Is there anything else I ought to know?"

"Well, Mark's son is training to be a mechanic, and his eldest daughter fell off my grid when he stopped talking to her. I think she was at law school at the time or just out of law school or something. It never really came up. I got the impression that Mark wasn't exactly proud."

"Why would you not be proud of your daughter suffering through law school?" asked Kegan.

"I don't think she followed the path of the environmental lawyer," said Angel. "More the blood-sucking lawyer."

"Well, the environment isn't exactly going to keep her rolling in the cash that the rest of her family's in," Kegan muttered. "So basically what you're telling me is that the most lucrative heist just dropped into my lap, but I can't do it because they'll take one look at me and fill me full of lead?"

"Basically, yeah," said Angel simply. "If you were a witch about to kill a whole group of rivals and people that you never really trusted, or get said people to do the killing themselves, where would you be?"

"Somewhere I could watch, but nowhere that I might get hurt," said Kegan. "Why does this happen to me? Why can't the richest people on the planet be blind and deaf and not at all technologically savvy so their security is not at all up to scratch?"

"Because you're a demon and God doesn't smile down upon you," said Angel, mounting the next flight of stairs until he reached the third floor landing. "What do you reckon? Think somewhere up here?"

"Well, we can't go any further," said Kegan pointedly. "And height is generally a good vantage point. And I'm a _half_ demon."

"Why are you insistent upon that?" asked Angel. "I'm a half demon but I don't go correcting everyone when they call me a vampire."

"You're not a vampire/human idiot! You're just a vampire! And I just want everyone to know that I'm a half demon so that it's all the more scary when I use my powers in my human form. That door over there. If I was going to watch people kill each other, I'd want a penthouse view."

"Got any weapons?" asked Angel.

Kegan stared at him.

"You're just thinking about this _now_?" she hissed.

"Well, you distracted me by talking," said Angel.

"I have fire, will that do?" asked Kegan.

Angel paused.

"Should," he said eventually, turning to the door. "Would you like the honours?"

"I'm wearing high heels."

"Suit yourself," Angel muttered, rearing back and lashing out.

With a CRASH, the door flew right off it's hinges and the man inside the room leapt to his feet. He was in his late fifties, with salt and pepper hair and age lines marking his face. He had a scar down his left cheek, but it was almost hidden by the markings painted on his face in what appeared to be blood.

"I'm sorry to barge in like this but I'm afraid witchcraft was forbidden during the Salem period," said Angel.

"Vampire," the man growled.

Angel and Kegan both dived out of the way as a bolt of electricity was loosed from the man's hand.

"Oh, that's just plain nasty," said Angel, scrambling to his feet.

"How did you get in here?" the man snarled.

"Well, I find it difficult to believe that you missed it, but he kicked the door in, remember?" asked Kegan.

Thompson growled and sent another bolt of electricity at her. Kegan flattened herself to the floor and it connected instead with the handrail above her head. Angel dived, tackling the man backwards and causing him to fall into the alter he'd been working on. Thompson kicked Angel hard in the stomach and pushed him off, rolling away and jumping to his feet. Kegan got to hers just in time to catch the ball of flame Thompson sent straight at Angel. The witch stared at her.

"That was a stupid idea," said Kegan simply. "Only I'm allowed to kill the vampire."

The ball of flame grew exponentially in size as she hurled it back at the man, who screamed in pain as he was engulfed in fire. Kegan pulled Angel to his feet.

"Thanks," he said sincerely.

"Don't thank me. I wasn't kidding. Only I'm allowed to kill you."

Angel swallowed.

...

"Why are you so happy?" asked Angel shrewdly.

"Well, aside from the witch, I had a very good time last night," said Kegan simply, tossing her feet up on Angel's desk as she sat down. "Am I not allowed to be happy about that?"

"That kid came by after you pushed me out of the apartment, didn't he?" asked Angel.

Kegan licked her lips.

"It was a very good night," she said simply.

Angel rolled his eyes.

"However, I'm not very pleased with the information you gave me about the Hunters," said Kegan, taking up one of Angel's pens and twirling it around her fingers. "There are gaps."

"Like what?"

"What do they trade in?"

"That's never come up."

"Why are they here, not in England?"

"Wanted a change of scene."

"Most importantly, how do you know them?"

"You're not privy to that."

The glint in Kegan's eye the moment he said that told Angel that it was the wrong thing to say.

"Why not?" she asked. "What's so top secret about your relationship with this family?"

"That's top secret," said Angel simply.

Kegan glared at him.

"I will find out Angel."

Angel looked up at her stonily.

"Back off Kegan. The Hunters are under my protection."

"Under your protection?" asked Kegan skeptically. "Yes, you look like you're really working hard as their bodyguard. And how come you don't know what they trace in if they're _protected_ by you?"

Angel got up abruptly and came around the desk, pushing Kegan's feet off it and leaning over Kegan, hands on either side of the chair, face almost touching hers.

"I am only going to tell you once, so listen very carefully," he said quietly. "If you lay so much as a finger on any of the Hunters, I will not rest until I've killed you. Do I make myself clear?"

Kegan stared at him, slightly open mouthed. The last time she'd seen him so quietly threatening had been many a year ago, and it had scared her somewhat back then, even though he hadn't been threatening her. Now he was doing it to her, Kegan could see why Angel really got what he wanted from people, and it had nothing to do with the thrall of a vampire.

"Crystal," she said finally.

Angel pulled away and sat back down.

"If the only reason you're here is to brag about last night, then I suggest you leave," he said curtly.

Kegan bit her lip. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to push him at the moment.

"Alright," she said eventually. "I'll leave. But only because I have nothing left to brag about."

"Thank god," Angel muttered.

Kegan glared and threw the pen back onto the desk. Angel jumped as it lodged itself tip-first into the wood right near his hand.

"See you when I see you," said Kegan, smirking as she left the room.

...

"I don't know who you are, but I can smell lawyer on you from a mile away," Kegan growled, not turning around as someone tapped her on the shoulder, and instead taking hold of one of the bottles behind the counter she was sitting at and taking the liberty of pouring herself another scotch. "And if you think for one moment that I'm going to fall into _another_ Wolfram and Hart trap, then I've got some bad news for you."

"I'm not here to trick you," said a female voice.

"I'm not joining Wolfram and Hart either," said Kegan.

"Will you at least listen to what I have to say?" asked the woman, sitting down beside Kegan.

"Probably not but I'll pretend for your sake. I'd hate for you to feel ignored."

"You've been looking into the Hunters."

Kegan stiffened.

"My name's Lilah Morgan. I think we could help each other."

"I'm not interested in the Hunters any more," said Kegan shortly. "You've been misinformed."

"Yes, the vampire can be very protective of them, can't he?" asked Lilah.

"What do you want?" Kegan growled, finally turning to look at the lawyer. She was young, obviously new to the business, but she already had that over-confident air to her. She had shoulder length light brown hair and hazel eyes, and she was smirking slightly.

"To swap information," she said. "I'll tell you about the Hunters, you tell me about Angel."

"I've already been approached by someone from Wolfram and Hart trying to get to Angel, and I didn't like them any better."

"Nobody likes Lindsay McDonald, they tolerate them," said Lilah simply. "And I have no intention to bullshit you into a trap. I'm not that stupid. I want nothing more than to help you get one over on the richest family in America."

The way the woman spat out the last phrase made Kegan smirk.

"You're the other daughter, aren't you?" she asked. "I bet Mr Hunter wasn't very happy to hear that his favourite daughter had decided to join Wolfram and Hart."

"I was never Mark's favourite anything," said Lilah, and Kegan noticed the resentful little twitch in her features. "But that's not what we're discussing. If you're willing to give me a bit of an insight into what Angel's currently up to, I'll tell you about the Hunters. If not, I'll walk away, and you'll never have to hear from me again."

"How will I know what you're telling me is legitimate?"

"Would I lie to you?" asked Lilah, smirking.

Kegan considered her.

"How is Angel connected to the Hunters?" she asked.

Lilah smiled and got to her feet, gesturing for Kegan to follow her over to a booth.

"He saved Mirany Hunter's life," said Lilah simply, sitting down as Kegan slid into the seat opposite her.

"Mirany? The Slayer?"

"One and the same," Lilah grunted, frowning. "Of course, back then she wasn't the Slayer, she must have been...seven, maybe eight. She got a little angry with daddy dearest and took off. Unfortunately, it was the middle of the night and there was a nest of vampires nearby."

"She got cornered?"

"Angel was in the area, don't ask me why he was in England of all places, I don't know, but he found her and took them out. I wasn't there at the time, but apparently when he brought her back home, Mark and Tanya were this close to taking _him_ out when he couldn't get over the front door step. But since the girl was fine and he'd obviously helped her and managed to avoid having his head chopped off, they got into talking and found out who he was. They've been mates ever since."

Lilah's last since was so bitter that Kegan offered her the drink she was holding.

"Somehow I think you could use this more than I could right now," she said.

"Thank you," Lilah muttered, taking a mouthful and handing it back. "Anything else?"

"How on earth did they get so rich?"

"They're in the trade business...and the real estate business...and the oil business...and every other lucrative business there is to be in," said Lilah.

"Huh," Kegan grunted. "And why they came here from England?"

"They felt it was a better place to raise their little prodigy," Lilah spat.

"Mirany was the gen of the family, wasn't she?" asked Kegan, smirking.

"Still is," said Lilah. "Especially now that she's the Slayer too. What luck to have both parents as Watchers."

"Bitter, aren't we?" asked Kegan.

Lilah took a deep breath and regained her composure.

"In any case, is that all? I have other appointments."

Kegan blinked.

"Wait, didn't you want info on Angel?"

"We both know you have nothing to share at the moment. But when you do, give me a call," said Lilah, sliding a business card across the table. "Until then, I do hope you find my information of some help to you."

She slid out of the booth and walked away as Kegan picked up the business card.

"Damn," she muttered.

She'd been tricked again. She'd been too quick to get the information she wanted. She knew perfectly well that she'd just entered into a deal with the Wolfram and Hart lawyer, and that she wasn't getting out of it until the information she gave Lilah Morgan was equal in value to the information she'd just received. Kegan had no idea what value the information about the Hunters held yet, but she now hoped against hope that it was the sort of information that anyone with half a brain could get a hold of.

"This could be problematic."

"What could be problematic?"

Kegan jumped as Angel slid into the booth across from her.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Kegan hissed.

"Did it work?"

Kegan glared at him.

"I thought you didn't want to talk to me."

"I didn't. Now I do."

"Well, you know exactly what my price is," said Kegan, running her foot up his inner thigh. "So what's bothering you?"

Angel shifted uncomfortably as her foot brushed against places he'd rather be left unexplored.

"I uh...please stop."

"What's in it for me?" asked Kegan, grinning evilly.

"This was a bad idea."

Kegan's grin increased in volume.

"That's why you're here, isn't it? What? Couldn't find me at home?"

Angel was silent. Kegan smirked and took up his hand.

"Well come on then big guy. Let's go satisfy those cravings."


	5. Family Ties

"Can you please just leave me alone for one day?"

"You wouldn't know what to do without me," said Kegan simply.

"You know, I managed for a hundred years, I figure I can survive for one day," said Angel pointedly.

"Oh stop your whining," said Kegan, yanking Angel's chair out from behind his desk so that she could straddle him. "You like it."

"Get off," said Angel shortly.

"Make me," said Kegan, grinning.

Angel got to his feet abruptly, causing Kegan to stagger off him, scowling.

"That was just childish," she said.

"Oh I'm the childish one?" asked Angel pointedly. "Who throws a tantrum if they don't get their way?"

"Uh, that would be you."

"Na-uh," said Angel.

"Ya-ha," said Kegan.

"Na-uh!"

"Ya-ha!"

"Na-uh!"

"Ya-ha!"

"I think we get the point!" Cordelia snapped, breaking up the argument. "You're both children and if you don't both shut up I'm going to have to send you to the naughty corner!"

Angel scowled at Kegan.

"She started it," he muttered and Kegan raised an eyebrow at him.

"What's got you so uptight then?" Kegan asked Cordelia, sliding onto the top of her desk and pushing half the papers on it to the floor.

"Well for the most part, you two," huffed Cordelia. "And would you please pick those up?"

"No," said Kegan simply. "Not unless you want a bonfire. Paper and I tend not to mix well."

"What _do_ you mix well with?" Angel muttered.

"Sunlight," Kegan growled threateningly and Angel didn't respond. "So where's the Irish idiot?"

"He wasn't an idiot!" Angel growled.

Kegan blinked.

"Wasn't?"

Angel didn't say anything, just turned around and stomped into his office, slamming the door shut behind him. Kegan looked around at Cordelia.

"What happened?"

"Doyle sacrificed his life to save a lot of people," said Cordelia quietly.

"That would explain why you're both extra grumpy," said Kegan.

"Kegan, while I appreciate that you have nothing better to do than come here and annoy the hell out of both of us, please leave," said Cordelia simply.

Kegan stared at her.

"You've grown balls," she commented. "Good for you."

She slid off the desk and moved to the door, and as she did, a young, tall man with neat brown hair, rectangular glasses and a neat suit walked in.

"Morning all, how went the hunt last- hello."

Kegan raised an eyebrow at the man.

"English, suit in hot weather, knows Angel hunts...Watcher," she said.

"Actually I'm a rogue demon hunter," said the man, puffing out what little chest muscles he had proudly. "Wesley Wyndam-Pryce at your service."

"A stupid Watcher," Kegan commented. "Let me guess, you knew Angel when he was in that hell hole someone was stupid enough to call Sunnydale."

"He was Buffy's Watcher for a brief period of two seconds," said Cordelia. "She didn't like him."

"I can't imagine why," said Kegan sarcastically. "Excuse me Four Eyes, I have an elsewhere to be."

Wesley stared after Kegan as she left.

"What a strange young woman."

"She's a demon," said Cordelia casually.

"What?"

"Her name's Kegan."

"Kegan?" Wesley whispered, shocked. "_The_ Kegan? Tor'Aal half-blood? Terrorized the whole of Europe for years just because she was bored?"

"I guess," said Cordelia.

"And she and Angel are back together?"

Cordelia blinked.

"What? They were never together."

"Who told you that?"

"Angel."

"Cordelia, the demon that just walked out of this office spent the good part of twenty years moving from place to place with Angelus. Wherever they went, disaster followed. She has a higher Slayer record than almost any other demon. It's rumored she's invincible. If she and Angel are running together again-"

"No-one's running with anyone," said Angel, who had been listening to the conversation from his office doorway since Kegan had left. "Kegan was in trouble with Wolfram and Hart and I helped her out of it. Since then she's helped me occasionally with difficult jobs, and in between she's been a pain in the ass."

"You never said anything about you two running together," said Cordelia.

"Well see, I didn't want you to know," said Angel pointedly and Cordelia scowled at him.

"Why not?"

"Because those are twenty years of my existence that I can never get back," said Angel. "I didn't enjoy my time with Kegan, and I don't really wish to talk about it. Those are times I'd much rather forget."

"Is it true?" asked Wesley. "Is she actually invincible?"

"No-one's invincible," said Angel. "Even Kegan has weaknesses."

"Do you know what they are, or are we still guessing those?" asked Cordelia.

Angel smirked.

"I have a fair idea."

...

When Angel tried Kegan's door, he had expected it to be open, and so he ran head first into it when it didn't budge. Scowling, he knocked on Kegan's apartment door and waited. There was no response. He knocked again impatiently.

"Kegan, open the door!" he snapped.

There was still no reply and as he growled to himself, Angel had the sudden realization that he had never experienced a time when Kegan's door had been locked. Whether she was in the apartment or not, security didn't seem to be her biggest issue.

"Kegan?"

Angel looked around him. There was no one nearby. He tried the handle one more time, and when it didn't budge, he rammed his shoulder into the door and it flew open.

"Kegan?"

The room beyond the door was dark. It had never been this dark before. There wasn't a single flame in any of the little fire pits Kegan was so fond of working in, and there weren't even glowing coals. Angel crossed the room to the bedroom door and shouldered his way through it.

"Kegan, are you here?"

There was a quiet sort of groan from behind the bed and Angel hurried around it to find Kegan in her demonic form, lying in a pool of lava-like blood, barely conscious. He swore quietly and crouched beside her.

"Kegan, can you hear me? Who did this Kegan?"

Kegan made a few incomprehensible noises, but nothing sounded like a name or even a word to Angel.

"Alright. You're gonna be okay Kegan."

"Fire."

Kegan breathed the word so quietly that Angel almost missed it.

"Yeah, Kegan. I'll get you to a fire. Here."

Biting into his wrist, Angel held the wound up to Kegan's mouth and let the blood from it trickle down her throat. The change in her was minimal, but it was enough. She seemed to focus a little more clearly, and regain just a tiny amount of strength, but it was clear to Angel that if he didn't get her to a fire in the next fifteen minutes, Kegan would be out for the count.

"Alright, hang in there, okay? You'll be alright," Angel told her as he lifted her into his arms.

Kegan's head flopped onto his shoulder and she whispered something, but even with her mouth right next to his ear, Kegan's words were too quiet for Angel to hear properly.

"You're gonna be okay."

...

"Angel I- Jesus Christ, what happened?" asked Cordelia as Angel barged into the office with Kegan in his arms, now unconscious.

"I don't know. I went to her place and she was already like this," said Angel, hurrying down the stairs with Cordelia in tow. "Light the fire."

Cordelia moved immediately to the fireplace and began to start the flames while Angel placed Kegan on the ground beside her and moved over to the fridge.

"What are you- oh gross," Cordelia muttered as he pulled a blood bag out of it. "Does she drink blood too? You know, aside from when she's trying to get high off you."

"On occasion," said Angel shortly, tearing open the bag with his teeth and kneeling beside Kegan, resting her head in his lap. "You got that going yet?"

"Getting there," said Cordelia. "Angel, you don't think whatever did this might come back to finish her off do you?"

"They left her lying in a pool of blood Cordelia. I don't think they were all too worried about her living to tell the tale," said Angel, opening Kegan's mouth and pouring the blood inside. "We've gotta make sure she does."

"Do we have to?" asked Cordelia mutinously and Angel growled at her. "Whoa, okay! Making sure she lives. Got it. Look, fire's lit."

"Okay, I need you to go to the magic shop and get dragon spit. As much as you carry. Oh, and a good amount of belladonna but don't touch it because it's kinda poisonous. He sells it in bags, I need the biggest bag he's got."

Cordelia wrinkled her nose but didn't voice a complaint for fear of Angel biting her, and instead hurried away. Angel lifted Kegan slightly and let her head fall gently into the middle of the fire. The moment Kegan started to breathe in the flames, bright glowing veins appeared right along her skin and a moment later flames shot out of them, causing Angel to yell in shock and scramble away from her.

"Angel?"

Wesley appeared in the stairway.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Angel breathed, watching Kegan curiously as she exhaled flames. She was like some sort of human shaped dragon.

"I passed Cordelia on the way in. She was rushing around but she didn't tell me- Dear Lord, what happened?"

"I don't know," Angel muttered.

"Ah, this would be why she wanted dragon spit," Wesley muttered. "Seemed a strange ingredient for Cordelia to need."

"What do you know about Tor'Aals?" Angel asked.

"Not much. Just the basics. They're basically dragons in human form and they quite enjoy setting people on fire. They have a huge rivalry between family. They-"

"Wait. Rivalry between family?"

"Apparently Tor'Aal siblings will fight each other to the death," said Wesley. "It's a rite of passage. But I thought Kegan had no siblings. Well, that's one of the legends in any case. That was what made her so impressive. She never once practiced her powers on anyone before all of a sudden she was incredibly strong."

"Not all legends are true," Angel muttered. "All the fires in her place were out and whoever it was knew how to hurt her."

"That sounds like Tor'Aal battleground," Wesley agreed. "When fire demons fight each other, you know, properly, it's custom to put out all the fires nearby so as not give anyone any advantage."

"Yeah, or someone just knew her," said Angel darkly.

"She needs a bigger fire Angel. You should have stayed where she was and lit the fires back up."

"It was too dangerous," Angel sighed. "What if they came back to make sure?"

"I wouldn't worry about that Angel. If it was a sibling, they would have fought to the death. They wouldn't have left her to die, they would have finished her off."

"What? You mean-?"

"If it was a Tor'Aal, they're well and truly dead."

"There was no body."

"You really ought to brush up on your girlfriend's race," Wesley commented.

Angel growled.

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Tor'Aals don't leave bodies, they leave ashes," Wesley explained. "Almost all fire demons do."

"Okay, obviously we're assuming it's a Tor'Aal here, does that mean she's passed her rite of passage?" asked Angel.

"I'm going to say yes," said Wesley.

"Why? What does it do?"

Wesley gestured at the flaming veins.

"That. She'll have those vein things in her demon form now. And she'll be far stronger than she's ever been before. There are several rites of passage for a Tor'Aal, and each gives the demon an added deadly feature."

"Why wouldn't she just go do it?" asked Angel. "Make herself stronger right away?"

"Because Kegan is famed for wanting political power, not physical. She'll go out of her way for political power, but I think it's safe to assume that the only physical power she will gain is the power that turns up on her doorstep."

"Literally," Angel muttered. "What sort of demonic race tries to get it's members to kill each other?"

"The sort of race that only wants the strongest," said Wesley, "and you've managed to land yourself with strongest of them all. She's more powerful than any pure blooded Tor'Aal, let alone a half-blood. She's an anomaly. She's dangerous."

"Any neutral demon is dangerous Wesley," said Angel, "if you push the right buttons. Unfortunately they seem to be the only buttons I push."

"Okay, I got dragon fluids, I got poisonous plants, and the guy also gave me a handful of these," said Cordelia, dropping a handful of rounded stones in Angel's palm and dumping the other items on the couch. "Said something about them helping the force of the fire. Don't know how he knew we were dealing with a fire demon, he just did."

"Give me those," said Wesley, taking the stones off Angel. "They're lava stones. I can kick start them for you."

"Thanks," said Angel. "And thanks Cordelia."

"Anything else I can do Angel?"

"I'll let you know," said Angel, unscrewing the cap on a bottle of the dragon spittle and pouring some into his palm.

Cordelia shuddered and turned back up the stairs.

"Alrighty then. I'm just gonna go throw up now."

...

When Kegan opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Angel watching her with a curious look on his face.

"What?" she groaned.

"I didn't think you even had siblings," he said thoughtfully. "You never mentioned them before."

"Oh," Kegan muttered, pushing herself up slightly and noticing that she was covered in leaves. "Belladonna?"

"It is somewhat fitting that the only way to heal you is with one of the most poisonous plants ever," Angel commented.

"Tell me you used drag-"

"Yes," Angel interrupted. "I do remember how to speed up your healing."

Kegan stared at her arms, noticing the veins of fire.

"'Bout time," she muttered. "I hadn't seen the bastard in three hundred years and the first thing he does is try to kill me."

"Didn't really go his way, did it?" Angel commented.

"Well, he should have known better. I was always better at everything than Lumaen. Mostly because he was a prat. He was sort of the black sheep. Actually cared about humans. None of us liked him."

"Us? How many of you were there?" asked Angel.

"Seven," said Kegan, sitting up and peeling off some of the leaves on her arms to inspect the damage. "I was the youngest."

"The...youngest? How strong were the oldest?"

"You've kinda witnessed that," said Kegan pointedly, placing her feet in the fire to remain in contact with the flames.

"So you were the prodigy?"

"I was daddy's girl, yes," said Kegan, grinning wickedly. "I think he was most proud of me the day I turned three. I took out my youngest brother."

"Okay, that's scary," Angel muttered.

"Yes well, he didn't sleep with one eye open," Kegan reasoned. "He clearly wasn't going to last two seconds in the real world. I think father was all the more proud of me that day because it was my first kill too."

"You...you had your first kill at three years old?" Angel hissed.

"Yeah. Didn't you?" asked Kegan, as though it was normal. "Granted, it wasn't an entirely difficult kill, but he did wake up and fight back for a few moments...till I garrotted him."

"Oh that's disturbing," Angel breathed. "I can't believe I'm going to ask this but what about the others?"

"Well, some were killed by other members of the family. Obviously, we all wanted to earn our rites of passage, but uh...well..."

She grinned again.

"...I am the strongest."

"And the most psychotic," Angel muttered.

"Hey, if you didn't like it you wouldn't have helped," Kegan pointed out. "Thank you, by the way."

"Uh, when I was carrying you, you said something but I couldn't catch it," said Angel. "What was it?"

"Angel, I don't even remember you coming in," said Kegan. "I seriously doubt it would have made any sense anyway, given the state I was in."

"Bullshit," said Angel at once. "You remember everything."

"And you hear everything," said Kegan. "I guess neither of us are as good as we claim."

Angel smirked.

"Come on Kegan, what did you say?" he asked. "I promise I won't tell anyone."

"You wouldn't happen to have thought to investigate how my estranged brother managed to find me, would you?" asked Kegan, swiftly changing the topic of conversation.

"Uh...no," Angel admitted. "I just thought that he was dead so it couldn't have mattered much."

"It couldn't have mattered much? If people can find me, people can kill me," said Kegan simply. "Why do you think I try to live in as normal a place as possible? So that it won't look strange to my enemies when they see a girl walk casually into a cave somewhere."

"So...you would like me to-"

"Yes!" said Kegan pointedly. "After you take me home."

"I don't know Kegan, what if someone else does find you and comes to finish you off?" asked Angel.

"I won't play fair," said Kegan simply. "Angel, as kind as your hospitality may be, the size of your fire is pathetic. If I want to heal properly, I need to go home. And speaking of people coming to finish me off, how did you even get in? I sealed that door."

"Sealed it how?" asked Angel.

"I melted the bolt and I burnt a locking rune into the the back," said Kegan, fishing the lava stones out of the fire. "How did you find these?"

"Shop."

"Shop? Shops sell these?"

"Apparently," said Angel. "What sort of rune?"

"The sort of rune that seals a door!" Kegan snapped. "What sort of rune do you think?"

"Well...you must have traced it wrong," said Angel, "because that door opened easily the moment I put some force on it."

"Oh...I'll have to take a look at it. I was losing blood," Kegan reasoned. "Anyway, take me home!"

"No," said Angel simply. "You're still in a bad way Kegan. You need to stay somewhere you're safe."

"I'm safe at home," Kegan growled.

"Okay, I'll make you a deal," said Angel, "if you can get to the car without any trouble, I'll take you home."

Kegan immediately pulled herself to her feet and began to move towards the stairs, but before she made it she had to grab the back of the couch and pause as she began to sway.

"You alright?" Angel checked, getting to his feet and coming round to her.

"Fine," said Kegan casually. "Just...checking out the cool pillow covers."

"Kegan, sit down," Angel ordered.

Kegan sighed and moved back over to the fire, holding herself awkwardly to accommodate for the pain of her injuries.

"I hate it here," she muttered. "It smells of vampire."

"Funny that," said Angel coolly. "Are you okay?"

"No," Kegan muttered. "I hurt a bit. The bastard had iron."

"I figured as much," said Angel. "Can I do anything for you?"

"You can make me some tea," said Kegan. "Belladonna, cold, lots, and if you could lace it with blood that would be preferable."

"Cold?"

"The poisons in the plant seep out better," Kegan explained. "And don't put in any of that pig's blood crap. I can still taste that on my tongue. I need your blood."

"Of course you do," Angel muttered. "Anything else your majesty?"

"Ah, go to hell," Kegan spat, face planting into the fire.

Angel smirked.

"Been there, done that."

...

"Are you going to be a regular appearance now?" asked Kegan, watching Wesley carefully as he rounded Cordelia's desk to fiddle with the computer.

"I like to think so," said Wesley. "Angel would be lost without my demon knowledge."

"As opposed to the knowledge about demons that he could gain from a _demon_," said Kegan. "And I feel it is my duty as someone cool to remind you that as far as being a rogue demon hunter goes, you aren't exactly scary."

"Maybe not, but you're threatened by me."

"Oh yes, very," said Kegan sarcastically. "I'm shaking with fear."

"You're threatened by my superior intelligence," said Wesley.

Kegan stared at him in surprise.

"How stupid are you?" she asked.

"Stupid enough to think I won't kill him if he doesn't get off that computer," said Cordelia, walking into the office. "Not to mention stupid enough to take one look at you and start drooling."

"No, that's smart," said Kegan.

"Why are you still here?" asked Cordelia.

"Because the Fuhrer in there has forbidden my leave," said Kegan coolly, gesturing through Angel's office window at the brooding vampire. "So here I am."

"Uh, I think they're just called 'bosses' nowadays," said Cordelia, smirking.

"Well, since you're obviously not doing anything, why don't you make yourself useful?" asked Wesley. "I'm researching Angel's latest task. A demon that can change it's voice to mimic those of other people, luring people towards it before it rips out their insides."

"Well stop researching Mr Superior Intelligence because you're looking for a Naorit demon," said Kegan. "Big, tall, slimy, but they're pretty slow and they don't tend to like sharp pointy things that can run them through."

Cordelia snickered at Wesley's blank look.

"Oh I'm sorry, did you want to spend the rest of the day trying to figure that out?" asked Kegan.

"Kegan, leave him alone!" Angel yelled through the door.

Kegan huffed and got to her feet, stomping into Angel's office.

"If you're not going to let me leave then the least you can do is let me have some fun!" she objected.

"Yes, well, I would, but see, nobody else likes your version of fun," said Angel simply.

"I dunno, you tend to enjoy my version of fun," Kegan growled seductively, coming round behind Angel and running her fingers over his chest.

"Kegan, just don't," said Angel shortly.

"Aw, come on big guy. You know you want to," Kegan whispered in his ear and Angel swatted at her face.

"Go away!"

"Yes, well, I would, but see, you won't let me leave until I'm fully capable of defending myself properly," said Kegan, slipping her hands under Angel's shirt. "Come on. You can't tell me you don't want to. You've been sleeping in the same bed as me for two days and I know you're just itching to grab that-"

"Kegan for Christ's sake, not everyone's a whore!" Angel snarled, tossing her away from him roughly.

Kegan snarled at him and her eyes flared.

"Watch your tongue vampire or I'll cut it off," she snarled.

Angel glared at her and tossed her his car keys.

"Get out," he said simply. "Just get out."

"Gone," Kegan spat, turning and storming out of the office.

...

"What do you want?" Kegan snapped, kicking coals around the room.

Angel jumped out of the way as embers flashed around him.

"To tell you who told your brother where you were but now I figure you're probably not in the mood."

"And how on earth did you figure that out?" asked Kegan coolly.

"You know, I don't think you should be allowed to be angry at me just because I spoke the truth," said Angel.

Kegan flung his car keys at him and Angel winced as they collided painfully with his chest.

"Leave," Kegan growled.

"You know, I seem to be getting a flash of deja-vu," Angel commented. "Wasn't this how I got rid of you last time?"

Kegan looked up at him with cold eyes but didn't reply.

"Come on Kegan. Cordelia calls you a whore every day."

"Takes one to know one," Kegan muttered.

"Kegan, I didn't think it would be that great an insult," said Angel.

"You're not helping your case Fang Face," Kegan spat, turning away again.

Angel bit his lip. He had had no inclination of actually apologising to Kegan, but he knew full well that it was going to be the only way to sate the raging demon.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"No you're not."

"No I'm not," Angel agreed. "Look, do you want to know how he found you or not?"

"Fine. Amuse me."

"Wolfram and Hart."

"Let me guess. Lindsay."

"Yeah."

"Great. Well...thanks, I guess."

"What are you gonna do Kegan? He could send more demons after you."

"I've got it covered!" Kegan snapped.

Angel recoiled slightly.

"Jeez Kegan, don't bite my head off, I'm only trying to help."

"You have, okay? You've done your job. Leave me alone."

Angel frowned. He knew Kegan's mood swings and temper were retrospect to the fact that she hadn't aged a day since nineteen and she was doomed to experience hormonal bipolarity for the rest of her existence, but he was getting seriously tired of trying to pick his moments.

"Kegan for God's sake, grow up!" he snapped. "You can't take on Wolfram and Hart alone."

"I'm not. I'm taking on Lindsay."

"He's a part of Wolfram and Hart. He's more dangerous than you give him credit for."

"He's thirteen."

"Yeah? How dangerous were you at thirteen? Add seven years, because he's _not_ thirteen and triple it."

Kegan swallowed slightly.

"Kegan, I know you're angry at me right now but please let me help you. You're not at your best."

"Angel, if I need your help, I will ask. But I don't."

Angel scowled.

"Fine," he said. "You know where to find me."

...

"I don't remember our deal involving house calls. How do you know where I live?"

Kegan stepped into Lilah's apartment, looking around. It certainly wasn't the apartment of a daughter who still loved her very rich father, but it was stylish enough.

"It's my job to know."

"You don't have a job."

"I like to think my job is to know where to find people I need," said Kegan.

"I believe I already gave you what you needed," said Lilah coolly, getting to her feet and moving over to a decanter filled with scotch. "Can I tempt you?"

"No."

Lilah raised an eyebrow at her.

"Wow, something must really be wrong for you not to want a drink. Are planning on fighting someone?"

"I've already fought someone. But you already knew that didn't you?"

"I heard a rumour," said Lilah carelessly, pouring herself a drink and sitting back down again. "Is that why you're here?"

"Look, I don't know what you want me to do for my end of our deal, but I would appreciate you being able to control your associates long enough for me to come through," said Kegan.

"Kegan. You did come through."

"Excuse me."

"You don't really think Lindsay would send anyone after you after what you did to him, do you?" asked Lilah. "At least, not without some serious incentive."

"You told him to."

"You really should have asked what your end of the deal was going to be before you took it up," said Lilah. "I wanted information on Angel. I got it from you. Just not verbally."

"You wanted to see what he'd do."

"Angel is a...loose end, as far as Wolfram and Hart are concerned. We were just interested in his reaction."

"Look, whatever it is you want with Angel, going through me is going to get you nowhere. He hates me. He'd rather me dead."

"Then why didn't he just leave you to die?"

Kegan paused and Lilah smiled evilly.

"Our partnership is over Kegan. I suggest you leave."

"You know, I've been around for a long time, but I don't think I've ever met someone resembling a snake quite as much as you do."

"You met Angelus."

"He's not a snake. He's just good at trying. You're a snake."

"Goodbye Kegan," said Lilah, smirking. "I do hope I don't have to tell you to uh...what's the phrase...watch your back."

"Ditto," said Kegan, slamming the apartment door behind her as she left.

...

"Did you sort it out?"

"Yeah. Managed to. Sort of."

"You didn't, did you?"

"Lawyers are very...scheming."

"Yes, they do tend to be. Lindsay not as co-operative as you'd have liked? It's too bad you didn't have your flaming stick."

"Didn't go to Lindsay."

"Where did you go?"

"A lawyer on a higher floor."

"Oh good. Go to an even more dangerous Wolfram and Hart representative. That's smart," Angel muttered sarcastically. "What deal did you have to make?"

"Didn't end up making a deal. Stalemate," said Kegan.

"So they're still going to send people after you? You should start locking your door more often," said Angel.

"Speaking of, I checked my rune. It was perfect."

Angel watched Kegan as she moved over to his desk and sat down, pulling out the lava stones she had taken the other day. The once black stones glowed red hot when the demon touched them.

"You broke through a sealed door. How?"

"I don't know," said Angel.

"Liar."

"Prove it."

"How'd you do it Angel?"

"I'm special," said Angel simply. "Nice party trick."

"Lava stones are meant to glow with fire. Why are you special?"

"Because I am."

"Vampire, you give me something or I burn out your eyeballs," Kegan threatened, waving one of the stones dangerously close to Angel's face.

Angel stood his ground.

"I don't know what to tell you Kegan. Maybe it doesn't work on vampires."

Kegan narrowed her eyes at him.

"I will find out Angel."

"And when you do, I'd be delighted if you could tell me," said Angel. "Now, do you need help? Protection? Anything?"

"I can handle it."

"Kegan if someone comes after you again you might not make it."

"My brother was special. He caught me by surprise. And he was pretty damn strong. Not many demons are that strong."

"Some are. And those some are generally the ones that Wolfram and Hart have access to. Kegan, you could move in here."

"_Here_? As in, share with _you_? Unless it's a single night of sweaty passion, no thank you."

"You could move closer. Kegan, this could be serious."

"I don't think it's going to happen again Angel. I think they got what they wanted."

"Which was?"

"Your reaction."

Angel stared at her.

"My reaction?"

"It wasn't about me Angel. It was about you. You're more of a threat to them than I am. I'm just some annoying demon who occasionally pops up on their radar. You basically have a vendetta against them. They want to kill you, or they want to recruit you. Soulless, preferably. They want to fin your weaknesses."

"And they found you."

"I told them you'd rather see me dead than alive, but I don't think they believed me."

"Who was 'they'?"

"Didn't get a name," said Kegan. "You know, I'd be careful if I were you Angel. I'm not the one that's in over my head. Maybe you ought to back off Wolfram and Hart for a while."

"Wait. Do I hear a note of concern in your voice?" asked Angel, smirking slightly.

"Yeah. For myself. I don't want to get attacked again."

"You said they weren't going to do it again. You're concerned about me," said Angel, grinning. "Naw, I feel so loved."

Kegan scowled at him.

"I'm okay Kegan. I know how to handle Wolfram and Hart. You're the one that doesn't. Just...try to steer clear, okay?"

"I will if you will."

Angel smirked.

"Fine," he said. "Want it in writing?"

Kegan raised an eyebrow.

"Fine. Blood or ink?"

Angel rolled his eyes and got to his feet, turning her chair towards the door.

"You should go home. Get some rest."

Kegan got to her feet and moved over to the doorway, but she turned around again.

"Angel?"

"Mmm?" he asked, sitting back down at his desk.

"Why did you help me?"

Angel smiled at her.

"Because you're wrong. I wouldn't rather you dead."


End file.
